Safe Haven
by horseluvr00
Summary: Nichole Woods looks like any normal NYC citizen... besides being a deadly, cold-blooded assassin that is. With a tortured and scaring past, Nichole finds herself being dragged into chaos by SHIELD to help save the world from aliens. With an extreme lack of trust, Nichole never thought the person she would let into her life just happened to be a certain super soldier...
1. Chapter 1

**Hey all you people! :) So I finally decided on publishing this. It may start out a bit slow for some, but I promise you all that it will get better and more interesting. This takes place during the movie The Avengers and will go on into future movies probably. Now this is my first story that includes the main character falling in love; meaning this is my first romance-type story. I hope it's ok, and I will do my research. In the world of fanfiction, my first goal is to make my readers happy. :)**

 **So, I hope you enjoy this, and please review if you liked it. I love hearing what you all think and if you have suggestions for how to make this story better, I'm all ears. :) Enjoy! :D**

Ok... Let me just start out like this. My name is Nichole Woods. I'm a 22 year old girl who lives in New York City. Ok, hold on, let me stop right here... I'm not exactly 22; I only look like I am. And I don't know my exact age; whether I stopped aging at 17 or 20, I never found out. I'm actually turning 140 years old this year. But to be technical I may still physically be a teenager, I've kinda lost count of the years... God, I can't seem to remember, I either stopped aging at 17 or 22, and I like to say 22 so I can legally drink.

All I know about myself is that my father designed something that stopped my aging; he gave his life to make sure I received this-... I don't know what to call it.

For a few years I didn't feel any different, I was 10 at the time and for around 5 years I aged normally, went to school, did anything a normal kid would do. I was born in the year 1872 by the way.

Then it all started to change. After a while we realized I didn't look any different after 10 years. We visited the local doctor and he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary.

Soon after my mother passed away from illness and I was left alone. I may have been "30 years old" but I was still a young teenager inside; an orphan.

Sense then, I've realized the reason my father put this burden upon me was because I was the only one that could survive it, and I'm wanted for that. I've been chased all my life; been told many things about why other people needed what I have. I don't know what they ever meant by it. My father always told me to never let anyone have my blood; that what I was given could be dangerous to others.

Oh and there's one other thing I forgot to mention... I'm a master assassin, fluent in several languages, escape artist, master of disguise, and several other mastered ways of combat that will bore you to death. When you're over 100 years old; not aging; you learn a few things.

Something else that I've been told I have is trust issues. When my father told me that I can't get attached to anyone; in order to keep myself and what I have safe, I took it to heart... I guess you could say.

~0~

I picked up my lucky pack and grabbed an apple as I walked out the door. Sunlight hit my face and I felt the warm beams my skin as I walked down the steps of the apartment building and onto the NYC sidewalk. It was a clear, sunny day. I was on my way to a friend's house. Her name was Lara. She had been a good friend of mine for several years now. She was my uh... Partner in crime- you could say... Well, I'll explain later.

I walked the few blocks before coming to her apartment door; unlocking it with the key she gave me; and walked in.

"Hey Nik." I hear the familiar English accent from the kitchen. I come around the corner; seeing my red head friend sitting at the counter; a coffee mug in her hands.

"Hi Lara." My English accent was gone; thanks to spending 100 years in America. I missed it somewhat; but the American accent was... Kinda cool, I must admit.

I walk around the counter; grabbing a soda from the fridge and sitting across from her.

Lara slid the file over to me; allowing me to pick it up and open it.

"Nothing new today. Just the usual." She says; sipping her coffee. I huff and roll my eyes. The usual was boring. Drug lords, bandits, burglars, murderers... It was always the same. I was what they call a... vigilante... these days.

Lara was my little computer whiz. She got me police/government reports on criminals; allowing me to hunt them down and kill or take them in.

"C'mon Lara. There has to be something else-"

"Then why don't you ask SHI-"

"No." I made clear. Lara had been trying to get me to go meet with these SHIELD people for months. I've dealt with them in the past; they weren't as... extreme, then. That was back in the 50's.

"Why not?" She whines. "Nik, you're a master assassin with no use. You need a job." She laughs. I roll my eyes. Of course she knew about my aging thing. The only reason I trust her with my ability is because I owe her a lot, she's actually one of the main reasons I don't get caught on most of my uh... "Missions". She's the only family I have, and I know that she wants me to excel more in life, but I don't trust anyone except her.

At the moment, Lara is working at Stark Industries. I don't know the name of the job that she has, it's long and nerdy, that's all I know.

"So where is he now?" I ask; taking another sip from the coke can in my left hand; looking at the file in my other.

"Not too far, actually-" Lara moved her laptop closer to her on the counter; typing something in. "3 blocks away" she smiles at me with her bright green eyes. I grin.

"Good, easy job" I chuckle before finishing my apple and tossing the apple core in the trash can. "I'll be back in 45 minutes" I call as I walked out her door with my lucky pack.

~0~

I walked down the alley and up to a door; glancing behind me to make sure no one was coming before I stepped inside.

I swallowed before blinking a couple times; silently walking to the fall wall before putting my back to it.

Voices slowly came into view and I strained to hear.

"Is the package ready?" The first voice was scratchy and rough.

"Yeah, Kyle is putting it in the truck now" There was a second voice and I glanced over briefly seeing two targets. The man they mentioned; Kyle; he was my target... But it probably wouldn't hurt if I took them all out.

I smirk to myself before quietly walking around the corner and up behind the bigger guy in the room. I stopped behind him and waiting a few seconds.

5

4

3

2

1

I quickly grabbed him by the head and quickly snapped his neck. His body collapsed and I dragged him back into the shadows where the lights didn't shine in the room.

The other man had turned around and looked confused.

"Jack?" He cleared his throat; looking around cautiously. I dragged the guy; Jack over and around the corner of the room; laying him down before standing back up and putting myself against the wall.

I heard the thud of shoes as the other man came around the corner.

As soon as his eyes trailed up to me I sent out a quick punch to his throat; before kicking him in the stomach. He hunched over; holding his throat and choking before I jumped; rapping my legs around his neck and flipped; bringing him to the floor with a somewhat loud thud. I pulled my legs up to my chest as I got to my feet before kneeling down again. I carefully placed my hands around his lower head and neck before jerking them to the side; hearing the snap of his neck.

I let out a calm breath before walking towards the docking bay of the building.

~0~

After opening the door I walked out into the loading area. The first thing I saw was my target holding a gun. I stepped to the side; hiding behind a crate before taking a deep breath.

First thing coming to mind right now is to seduce him. Don't judge me; it has always been one of my techniques when my targets are armed.

I finally pushed myself up and away from the crates before walking over to him.

He was standing with three other men that were out of my line of sight at first.

"Hey boys" I smile; walking up. My target was the first to turn to me and he grinned.

"Back up guys, I'll take care of this" he mutters to the men behind him. I give them a small smile before looking back at my target; Kyle.

"What's your name sweetheart" he asked; walking up to me. I flash him my favorite sexy smile; as Lara calls it.

"Abigail" I say. No way am I telling him my real name, I've learned that the hard way.

"Mmm, wanna take a drive?" He grins; snaking his arm around my waist as he turned with me and we walked down the isle of the loading dock and around the corner. I saw a truck parked a few yards away.

"So what's a pretty girl like you doin around here this early in the morning?" He asked. I look to him and grin.

"Killing you" I smile before the knife that was in my hand plunged forward and right into his stomach; quickly pulling the knife away I slit his wrists. He let out a cry before falling to the ground. I knelt down beside him; wiping the blood off the knife and onto my jeans. "Don't worry, in the next 2 minutes you'll have lost enough blood, causing you to essentially pass out. After that- well, you know what happens." I gave him my "sexy smile" before standing up and walking back towards the loading dock.

I rounded the corner and saw the three men loading more packages onto the truck. I reached into my pocket; grabbed a small flat disk before tossing it over at them and walking away. Seconds later I heard the explosion and smirked to myself; walking back the way I came; passing Kyle's almost dead body, and then out onto the sidewalk; blending with the crowd.

~0~

I opened the door to Lara's apartment and stepped inside before closing it behind me. I turned and saw Lara sitting on the couch with her patched blanket; her laptop in her lap and the TV was on. She sipped her tea before looking over and smiling at me.

"How'd it go?" I find myself smiling at the sound of her familiar English accent.

"It was just fine" I reply; pushing my shoes off and walking over; sitting crisscross in the arm chair slightly to her left.

"Let me guess, you killed the employees too didn't you" she sighed. I grin at her and shrug. "Did you use that sexy smile or yours?" She asked. I rolled my eyes as I sat down.

"That answer is classified" I mumble as I reached for a magazine on the coffee table in front of me. Lara scoffs in a playful manner before picking up her tea and taking a sip.

"Guess what" she starts; swallowing her tea. I glance over from the magazine I was reading briefly.

"Hm…?" I breathe; my eyes trailing over the print.

"You have a phone call from SHIELD" she says; sipping her tea once more. My head shot up and I looked at her.

"Wait, what does that mean? Are you saying they-"

"They called your cell while you were out. I suggest calling back" she smiled. I nod after a couple seconds; putting a hair through my dyed hair in deep thought. I dyed my hair a dirty blonde a week or so ago; it helps keep SHIELD off my back for a couple weeks, but it appears they have me again.

"Wait, how did you know it was them calling?" My hand was in the middle of placing the magazine back on the table when I turned to her. She was in the middle of sipping her coffee when she stopped; looking over at me.

"I might have hacked the network to see where the call originated from" she flashed me a grin. I end up grinning back; rolling my eyes. "And that would be on a freaking giant aircraft carrier in the Atlantic" she smiles. I raise an eyebrow; looking over at her.

"You hacked into NASA again you idiot" I chuckle. She puts her hands up in surrender; her tea still in her right hand.

"Satellite images and video from space can be very useful!" She argues with a laugh. I roll my eyes again before getting up and walking into the kitchen and over to the counter; picking up my phone. Just as Lara said; one missed call.

I look over at her; seeing her in deep thought on her laptop. Taking a deep breath I unlocked my phone and went to the phone app; clicking on the missed call number and put it to my ear. I took one more deep breath before hearing the ring and someone connect the line.

"Miss Woods" Agent Coulson; that asshole. He was always on my case. We were mutual friends -scratch that, I don't know him well at all so the word "friend" doesn't cut it- I guess you could say; but I see him rarely and only on SHIELD business.

"Agent Coulson" I respond.

"We need to talk" he says in a slightly pissed off tone. I smile to myself.

"Usual spot then" I sum up. There wasn't a response as he hung up. I wait a couple seconds and blink. "Ok" I mutter to myself before ending the call. "Hey I'm gonna go get some lunch, I'll be back in an hour or so" I call; slipping my shoes back on and opening the door. She looks up briefly from her laptop.

"Bring me back a sandwich!" She yells before I walk out the door.

 **Did you enjoy it? I hope you all did! :D I will actually be updating the next chapter very soon so you all have a little something to grab onto and won't get bored. :) Please review! XD**

 **Couple quick things:**

 **Most of my chapters are between 2,000-2,500 words**

 **My updates very on my difficult schedule, I'm a freshmen in High school XD**

 **Again, I'm open to requests (depending on the extent of them) and suggestions**

 **I love answering all your questions, put them in the reviews or feel free to PM me :)**

 **So I hope you all (again XD) enjoyed this first chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Next chapter everyone! :) I told you all I would give you the next one a bit sooner so you had a bit more of the story to grasp on to. Please review if you liked! :)**

I took another bite of my sandwich before looking up in front of me; seeing Stark Tower pretty much across the street. This little diner on the corner was where I met up with anyone SHIELD related... And it was secretly also my favorite place to eat, don't judge.

I looked back down at my food; putting a chip in my mouth before taking a sip of my coffee. I stopped; looking up and squinting at the light when someone stepped in front of me. I smirk; pulling the cup away from my lips.

"Coulson" I greet. He gave me a nod before sitting down.

"Miss Woods there seems to be a slight problem-"

"I haven't gotten in the way of your missions, or taken out any of your targets, Phil" my tone soon became pissed off. I had Lara hack some files so I knew a few things about him, including his name.

Agent Coulson only gave a nod.

"We know, but this is about something else" he starts; handing me a file. I don't move; only stare at him and didn't even glance at the file he was holding out.

"What do you want" I ask darkly. He sits down in the seat across from me and places the file between us.

"We need your help with something" he begins. I raise an eyebrow before laughing. A couple people looked over before going back to their meals. Coulson's straight face didn't change. I slowly stopped laughing; clearing my throat and getting serious.

"I told you a thousand times Agent Coulson, I'm not helping SHIELD." I make clear. He nods before pushing the file closed to me. I huff; looking down at the file and then back up at him.

"I'm under strict orders from Director Fury" Coulson says. I raise an eyebrow; my eyes still on him. Back when SHIELD was changing and morphing into what it is today, I got in the way of an undercover SHIELD mission and we had a small quarrel; they called in the director after seeing me in action. "We really need your help here Nichole, this is much bigger than you realize." He says. "But in order for me to declassify the information in this file you need to commit to SHIELD first." He says. I smirk; looking into my lap.

"How serious?" I ask. He doesn't respond for a few moments. "C'mon Agent Coulson, you know I don't trust anyone, especially SHIELD. So you'll need to give me answers in order to make me even consider this." I make clear. He lets out a breath before looking down at the table and then back up at me.

"Let's just say that the object spoken of in that file has the potential energy to wipe out the planet" he says before standing up. I furrowed my eyebrows immediately.

"Excuse me?" I quieted my voice; standing up.

"If you're interested than you know what to do." He says. My face had grown concerned as I looked down at the file. I sighed; putting a hand through my hair and biting my lip.

"This is a onetime offer Miss Woods. If you decline then you cannot intervene." Coulson says. I gripped my fist; hunched over a bit in my chair before looking up at him.

"Ok" I say quietly. He raised an eyebrow. I stand up and pick up the file. "I'm in" I tell him. He smirks before giving a nod and holding out his hand.

"Welcome aboard" I shook his hand and gave him a nod before letting go; gripping the file in both hands.

"I may be helping you now Agent Coulson, but after this is over I'm done" I make clear. He hesitates before nodding. I gave him a nod in return before he started to back up a few steps.

"We'll contact you when you're needed" he calls as a black car pulled up and he got in. I gave him a nod; watching the car drive off; down the busy street.

I sigh; putting a hand through my hair before turning; about to storm back to Lara's when I ran into someone; the file flying from my hand and to the ground.

"Oh god, I Uh, I'm sorry" I start; seeing the guy kneel down and picked up the file.

"Don't worry its fine, I should have been watching where I was going" he smiles. I gave a warm smile back and he hands me the file. I saw his eyes trail down to the SHIELD logo on it and he suddenly looked a bit nervous. I hid my confused expression and gave him a nod and another smile.

"Thank you"

"You're welcome" he says back; putting his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket before looking toward the ground quickly and then back up at me.

"Oh uh, I'm Steve" He smiles and chuckles; holding out a hand.

"Nichole" I reply with a smile; shaking his hand. Man, this guy was nicer than most people I accidentally run into- not that I'm admitting to running into people often though. "Well I'm uh, gonna go" I say; backing up. "Nice meeting you, oh! - and uh, thank you for," I held up the file and the guy Steve nodded.

"No problem" he smiled. I gave a friendly nod before walking towards the crosswalk. As I was walking away I heard an older gentlemen speak up.

"Ask for her number ya moron" I chuckled to myself; glancing back, seeing Steve smiling to himself and looking a little embarrassed about the comment from the gentlemen.

~0~

I opened Lara's door and closed it behind me; making sure to lock it.

"Did you get me my Ruben sandwich?" She asked from the couch; right where I left her. I didn't answer until I walked over to the counter.

"Close the shutters please" I look up at her. She furrowed her eyebrows before getting up.

"Alrighty then" she mumbles; walking towards the windows. I looked down at the file again; taking in a breath before opening it. I furrowed my eyebrows at what I saw. "What's that?" Lara asked; walking over. I swallowed before speaking up.

"Oh uh, I agreed to help SHIELD out with something" my voice was pretty quiet.

There was a photo of a blue-like cube and it said TESSERACT in big bold lettering to the left. Above it was a printed LEVEL 7.

I already knew there were 10 levels in SHIELD, but why would they give me this high clearance?

"Oh my god, you seriously did it?" She gasped. I rolled my eyes and nodded. "After all I told you about SHIELD you finally-"

"Actually Lara," I chuckle. "I didn't decide to help for that reason. An Agent told me that the stakes were... A bit high." I tell her. She furrows her eyebrows before nodding.

"Oh I see," She replies; glancing down at the file; taking the sheet on top. Once she took it and walked back over to the couch I furrowed my eyebrows at the sheet of paper that was under it.

I picked it up and looked it over. There were two images paper-clipped to it.

"Hydra" I whispered; rubbing my fingers against the surface of the photograph in deep thought. Back during the Second World War, I remember hearing talk about science division called Hydra. I didn't know too much about it, but I knew of it.

I put the paper down and suddenly the doorbell rang. I immediately put my hand against my hip; looking for my gun, realizing I left it over on the couch.

I huff; putting a hand through my hair before walking to the door and looking out the peep hole. Seeing no one I hesitantly opened the door; seeing a package on the floor. Clenching my jaw; glancing down the hall I picked up the package and walked back in; locking the door behind me.

Walking back over to the counter, I opened it up and saw some kind of black tablet. I took it out and slipped it; opening up the access on the device. Seconds later four electronic files burst up from the tablet and into a large hologram.

"What the hell Nik wha-" she saw the holograms floating in the kitchen and paused. "Whoa" she breathed, getting up and walking over. I swallowed; my mouth open as I stared at the four electronic files. And four people I had heard of before.

"Is that-" Lara walked up. "Nik, that's Tony Stark, a-and that's Bruce Banner!" She exclaimed. I close my mouth and nod. "Who's the hot guy with the cape?" She whispered. I rolled my eyes.

"Thor, the God of Thunder" I reply. My mother used to read me stories about Thor, Asgard, all that. I can't believe it's actually real! I looked up and my eyebrows shot up at the next file I saw. "Hey isn't that Captain A-"

"Steve?" I questioned in a whisper; walking a bit closer; seeing a picture of the man I saw earlier today in military uniform.

"Captain Steve?" She questioned; raising an eyebrow at me. I shake my head.

"No no, I ran into him at the diner" I explain. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to speak.

"Oh, so you're already acquainted with one of these Avengers" she says more to herself. I look at her.

"Avengers?" She nods.

"Yeah, look" she pointed to the top of each file; AVENGERS INITIATIVE was printed.

"Avengers" I mumble to myself.

"So does this mean you're an Avenger now too-?"

"No" I make clear. "I didn't sign up for this Lara, you know that." I say to her. "I agreed to help if I was needed, and then that was it." I tell her. She puts her hands up in surrender before nodding.

"Alright, alright Nik. No need to get all defensive about it" she says with a smirk. I huff; looking at all the files one more time before shutting the tablet off and picking it up: putting it under my arm. "Where are you going?" She asked; her English accent sounds so different to me now. I turn to her as I walked for the door.

"Home, I need to look over this info a little more before they call me in, if they ever do." I add at the end; slipping on my shoes.

"We can only hope" she smirks. I chuckle and then my face drops and a shake my head.

"Mm, no." I laugh; putting my beanie hat on my head before walking back over to the couch; grabbing me gun.

"Oh, of course. Don't forget that" She rolled her eyes. I grinned; sticking the gun down my back; along the waist line of my jeans.

I walked back to the door and opened it; giving her a nod before walking out; closing it behind me.

~0~

I was back at home; curled up in my arm chair with an oversized sweater on and some plaid PJ pants. My hair was up in a somewhat sloppy bun.

I swiped the screen to the left; my eyes trailing over the hologram. I finally figured out how to make the hologram screen smaller; it was about the size of an open binder.

I was finishing reading the information on Thor right now. I had read the info on Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark as well.

I finished the info on Thor and swiped the screen again; coming to Captain Rogers' file. My eyes trailed over the info before I glanced at his picture. He looked exactly the same as he did 68 years ago. From what this file says, he was found in the ice only a little over a week ago, and now he was being brought into this mess.

I sighed; rubbing my face, with the back of my hand. I was getting extremely tired. Glancing at my clock I huffed; seeing it was 10 after 11pm. I had been reading for hours.

I looked back at the file and scrolled down a bit; seeing a picture of him in ice. I felt my mouth open a bit as I took in a breath.

That's what happened to him; that's why he doesn't look like he aged.

I sniff in a breath; before leaning on my fist.

"Alrighty" I mumble to myself; closing up the tablet and putting it on the coffee table in front of me. Getting up I rubbed my eyes as I walked over to my bedroom door; stepping inside and closing it behind me.

After brushing my teeth I walked to my bed; sliding my pistol under my pillow before getting under the covers. I pulled them up til they were under my chin and I moved over into my side; letting my eyes close.

~0~

I jumped out of bed as I heard a banging. My pistol ended up in my hands as I looked around my bed room before walking to the door; peeking my head into the living room. Seconds went by and there was another loud knock at the door. I pushed the door open and walked into the living room, and up to the front door. Looking through the peep hole I immediately furrowed my eyebrows when I saw two SHIELD agents standing there.

I tucked my pistol away in the back of my PJ pants before putting a hand through my hair and opening the door. It's not like I care whether or not I'm looking presentable. I furrowed my eyebrows again; seeing that Agent Coulson was not with them.

"Miss Nichole Woods?" One of them spoke up. I swallowed and nodded.

"That's me"

"We need you to get ready. Agent Coulson gave you the debriefing correct?" The other agent spoke. I nodded again.

"Yeah he did, uh- where is he now?" I ask. I'm not comfortable with these men. Couldn't anyone find a black suit and fake badge; coming up to my door saying 'let's go'?

"That information is classified at this time ma'am. Now if you'd please come with us, Director Fury wants to speak with you." The first agent says. I swallow before giving a nod.

"Give me a few minutes" I reply; closing the door and going to get dressed.

I put on some dark blue skinny jeans, some laced up black combat boots, and a black tank top under my brown leather jacket.

I brushed my teeth and let my curly wavy that was still dyed; fall around my shoulders. I popped an ice breaker into my mouth for a pathetic excuse of a breakfast.

Putting my pistol back behind the waist line of my jeans I walked for the door; opening it again.

"Alright, I'm ready" I tell him. They both gave me a nod and I followed them down the hall.

 **I hope you all liked it! Please review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! Another chapter for you all! :D Now just a reminder, but I won't be updating this frequently all the time, but since this is the beginning of the story I want to give you all a little something to look over. And yes, you will be seeing more of Nichole's past in time! :) Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

They had taken me in a car and to a private airport where there was some kind of jet. I furrowed my eyebrows once I stepped out of the car and we walked towards it. The ramp came down and they walked on when I hesitated. Swallowing anxiously I looked around inside the jet; seeing two pilots minus the two men that brought me.

"Miss Woods?"

I looked up as one of the agents called me and I finally stepped on the jet. As I walked all the way up the ramp came back up and locked. I sat down in one of the seats and jumped in surprise as the jet took off to the air. I swallowed hard and looked around me.

"So where are we going?" I spoke up in a serious tone. No need to act nervous; even though I'm having a panic attack on the inside.

"The Helicarrier; it's a large SHIELD aircraft currently off the east coast." One of the Agents says; walking over. He held out a hand.

"Agent Jasper Sitwell" he introduces himself. "I'm a friend of Coulson's." He adds. I nod in return; taking my hand away and hunched over a pit; gripping my right fist with my left hand.

"So how serious is this situation?" I ask. He hesitates; looking to the Agent next to him.

"It's bad, Miss Woods… As of right now the world could be at stake." Agent Sitwell says. I nod after a couple seconds.

~0~

About an hour later I felt the jet land. I looked up as the ramp came down; pushing myself to my feet before following the Agents off the jet. I couldn't close my mouth as we walked out onto this 'Helicarrier'. It was huge; two runways, at least a dozen different jets in sight, and a boatload of flight crew people running this way and that.

"Wow" I breathe; swallowing anxiously. I followed the two agents towards a door and we walked inside. The inside of this big ship was mostly metal-like. We walked down several halls and I felt my eyes widen as we walked into a huge dome-like room. My heart sped up and I could feel if pounding in my chest.

We walked up to a guy that was standing at a center control area of the room. He turned and I recognized him. Director Fury. I suddenly felt some rage washing give me. Last time I saw this guy he wanted to take me in for interrogation... Of course I didn't let him, I'm not that stupid!

"Fury" Was all I said. He gave a nod.

"I hope we can push aside out differences for now Miss Woods. This is a very serious situation." He makes clear. I hesitate before just giving a nod. "I understand you have read the debrief information on who you'll be working with?" He asks. I nod a reply. "Well I'll have an agent show you around a bit." He says. I turn to my right; seeing a woman with short red hair walk up.

"Miss Woods, I'd like you to meet Agent Romanoff" he starts. I gave a nod before turning directly to her. "Agent Romanoff, this is Nichole Woods" he adds. She gave me a nod before looking towards the door. I left Director Fury without another word; following Agent Romanoff down towards a hallway.

"So you're the girl everyone's talking about" she says after we were walking in silence for a few minutes.

"Excuse me?" I question. She gave a very small smirk.

"You don't age; everyone here's been talking about it." She says. I swallow and scratch that back of my neck in an uncomfortable manner.

"Is that all people are talking about?" I ask slowly.

"Well, almost two weeks ago we found Captain Rogers in the arctic, that's been flying around too" she says. I nod after a couple seconds. "You seem pretty shy" she smirks. I look up and give a bit of a nervous smile.

"A little" I admit. "Especially when I'm on a giant aircraft carrier run by a secret government organization" I add. She cracked a small smile again as we turned down a different hall.

"In there is the lab for Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark." She says; nodding to the room. I looked in; seeing a very high-tech lab. I mouthed a wow when she wasn't looking before we continued back down the hall.

This place was huge. We walked down two more hallways before Agent Romanoff gave me a quick glance.

"Oh, and over there is the mess hall." She points to the double-door opening a few yards away down the hall. I look over as we came into view; seeing many tables and a food area.

I cleared my throat finally. "Agent Romanoff" I start; stopping. She stopped and turned to me. "I read the files; I know what you're after... But I still don't understand why I'm here." I tell her. She didn't respond; only kept a blank face. "What do you guys want from me?" I ask; getting serious but slightly confused. She looks at the ground before looking up at me.

"Honestly, we need all the help we can get." She says; nodding to herself. "Coulson was the one to recommend you. I actually looked at your file" she says. I blink before swallowing. "Your abilities are incredibly impressive Nichole" She says; giving a small smile. I furrowed my eyebrows for a split second before looking at the ground and back up at her; putting a hand through my hair. "How long have you being training? Or- learning combat." She asks. I swallow again; looking away.

"Since I Uh-..." I blink several times; my eyes darting around. Memories began to come back to me and I felt my heart start to race.

"Oh-, you know what? It's known of my business." She says with a reassuring smile, in an understanding tone. I gave her a shy smile in return with a shrug. "I understand what it's like to keep a small circle of trusted people Miss Woods." She says. I put on a confident face and gave her a nod.

"Thank you Agent Romanoff" I reply. She gave me a nod.

"Natasha" She says. I smirk and nod again. "Well, let me finish showing you around," she starts; turning back. I put a hand through my hair again as we began walking down the hall.

~0~

Natasha had just showed most of the Helicarrier when she stopped; putting her finger to her ear.

"Agent Romanoff" she starts. I wait a couple seconds; looking at her curiously. I had heard about these things. It's like a little telephone that sits in your ear! "Yes, I'll get right on it sir" She replies before taking her finger away from the communicator. "Bruce Banner and Captain Rogers just arrived. I'll take you back to the bridge ok?" She says. I nod a reply before following her back.

~0~

Natasha had just left and I was now sitting at the big table on the "bridge" as she called it.

"Miss Woods" I looked up as someone cleared their throat. I looked up from my seat and got up; walking over to a woman standing on the lower level of the bridge.

"I'm Agent Hill" she says; shaken my hand. I give a nod. Seems everyone already knows my name anyway. "Fury wanted me to show you around the bridge a bit" she says.

"Oh ok" I give a small smile before I start to follow her around; my arms crossed.

"Ok, so this is our main command center" she nods to the place I saw Fury standing when I got here. "We can control most of the Carrier from there, and-" We both looked over when Natasha walked in with Dr. Banner and Captain Rogers. Agent Hill turned to me. "Would you like us to continue this later? I have to get back to work" she says with a smirk. I nod and smile before she walked away.

I looked around and saw that the floor ahead was just a window. I furrowed my eyebrows with curiosity before walking over. I cautiously stepped out onto the glass and took a few more steps; seeing straight down; thousands of feet. I swallowed anxiously at the sight.

"Nichole?" I jumped at hearing my name; turning around. "Oh, sorry" Steve says. I let out a breath before putting a hand to my chest.

"You scared me" I breathed before we both started chuckling. "Uh, hey!" I smile; using a hand to push the hair from my face. I shook his hand before he put his opposite hand in his jacket pocket. "So... Captain," I trail off with another small chuckle. He gave a nod after a couple seconds; looking a bit embarrassed.

"I would have mentioned that last time, but all I saw was the file you were holding. I had no idea you'd be here" He says. I nod.

"Neither did I" I reply. He furrowed his eyebrows at my comment. "I don't actually work for SHIELD... But, I agreed to help out" I explain. He gave a nod after a couple of seconds.

"Miss Woods" We both ended up looking to my right and I saw Agent Coulson. I gave Captain Rogers a nod before I headed over to where he was.

"Coulson" I clear my throat. He gave me a nod.

"We'll be needing your help soon. Go to room 285 and you'll find your suit." He says. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Why are they having me where a suit?

"Suit?" I raise an eyebrow.

~0~

I walked down the hall and finally saw a plaque that said Room 285. I sighed with relief before stepping into the room and stopping. I saw Captain Rogers' uniform at the back center of the room. I swallowed before walking into the room; blinking as I caught sight of something to my left. Turning; I saw my "suit" that Agent Coulson spoke of.

I swallowed; taking a few steps towards it; looking it over. (The suit looks a lot like Bobbi Morse's suit in Agents of SHIELD) It was black, grey, and blue. I slowly put out my hand and grabbed the sleeve; letting me fingers slide down it; feeling the fabric. It was smooth but still a bit rough.

I took a deep breath before taking the suit off the mannequin-like body along with the knee-high laced up, back combat boots. Walking out into the hall, I took a right and went to the woman's locker room next door. The men's was to the left. I found the locker number that Agent Romanoff said I was assigned to before putting a hand through my hair and seeing the dirty blonde dye. I huffed and finally decided on taking a quick shower to get the dye out. Walking over to the bathroom area I hopped in the shower and scrubbed the dye out; letting my brown hair fall around my shoulders as I turned the water off. I through my clothes back on and went to the supply area that Natasha mentioned when we were heading back towards the bridge. She said they supplied the locker rooms with things like hair dryers, soap, simple first aid, and a few other things.

After drying my hair and watching it form into the natural waves I walked back over to my locker and got changed; putting my clothes in the locker before putting on my suit.

After a very confusing 7 minutes of trying to figure out how to put it on, I walked over to the bathroom area again and looked in the mirror. I swallowed; not recognizing myself in the fitted uniform that made me look like I whole new person. I scratched the back of my head before putting a hand through my hair. It felt nice to have my hair back to its normal color.

I took a deep, confident breath before letting it out; walking for the door.

~0~

A few minutes later as I was putting a gun in the holster of my left thigh I heard the door open. My suit was placed almost right at the entrance so it was somewhat out of view for people just walking in.

I grabbed several throwing knives; seeing Captain Rogers walk in and slow down; eyeing his suit at the back-center of the room. I watched him for a few more seconds as he took a few steps forward.

"Captain" I cleared my throat in a greeting. He turned as if a bit startled and I cracked a smile. "Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to scare you" I chuckle in a somewhat mocking tone. He gave me a smile; looking me up and down seeing my suit.

"SHIELD give you that?" He asked. I looked down at myself before nodding.

"Yes, but I wouldn't consider it my first choice for use in combat. Still a little snug" I reply in a playful manner. He chuckled and then furrowed his eyebrows.

"What happened to your hair?" He asked; looking confused. I nod; understanding.

"This is my actually my natural hair color, which I can't stand, it looks horrible-" I add in an amused tone.-but it is true, I hate my hair color on me. "Only reason I changed was so that I could keep SHIELD off my back..." I say; looking down in a slightly anxious manner.

"Well... it looks good" He says after a few seconds; contradicting my first comment about it looking horrible. I smile before looking up at him.

"Thank you" I give a shy but grateful smile. Steve gave me a bit of a nervous smile before giving a nod. I blinked a couple of times after I realized I was staring at him before I turned; clearing my throat as I started to get ready. Steve got his suit before heading out to get ready. I looked over as he left and let out the breath I had been holding in.

"Real smooth Woods!" I scolded myself in a whisper. "Really smooth" I didn't fancy acting like a fool in front of him. Not to mention I was probably getting red in the face after he said my natural hair color looked good... Not that I was a big deal of a comment but I panicked.

Ok, next up. Some place called Stuttgart, Germany. Agent Romanoff mentioned we were after a guy named Loki.

 **Hope you all liked the chapter! Please review if you liked, if you guys let me know if you have requests or suggestions of how to make this the best that it can be, than I can try to do everything I can! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 **Hey all you people! Hope you've been having a great week/weekend, depending on where you live… XD I know that this story may be a bit… well, I don't know exactly how to put it. But this** _ **is**_ **my first story where the main character falls in love with someone so I'm trying by best to make it something you guys like to read! :) Anyway, I'll shut up now I hope you like this chapter! :)**

After following Natasha onto the jet I watched as she walked up and sat in the other pilot's seat. I stood behind her seat.

"So what are these things called again?" I ask. She looks up and over at me as she was putting her buckle on.

"There quinjets" She says; looking amused at my curiosity. I nod after a few moments. Hm, quinjets. That's actually a pretty cool name. I put another hand through my hand before crossing my arms.

"Nervous?" I looked down at Natasha as she spoke up.

"Hm?"

"You're nervous" she says with a chuckle. I furrowed my eyebrows. "I can tell, you always put a hand through your hair, or scratch the back of your head when you're nervous or anxious." She says with a chuckle. I end up smirking and nodding.

"Yeah, I guess I do" I admit. Seconds later I heard footsteps and Captain Rogers walked up the ramp in his suit; his helmet in hand along with his shield in his right hand.

I gave him a nod as he walked up and into the "quinjet". He gave me a quick nod and a smile back before putting his shield down against the side of the seats. "How powerful is this guy?" I asked. Natasha shrugged after flipping a few switches and putting on a headset.

"No idea" she says. "But we'll know soon enough" she says; glancing at me. I gave her a nod before I felt the jet jolt and we took off. I swallowed and put a hand through my hair; then quickly drop my hand, remembering what Natasha said.

I finally sat down at one of the seats and grasped my fist with my left hand; my leg bouncing a bit with anxiety.

"You good?" I looked up as Captain Rogers spoke. I hesitated before nodding.

"Yeah, I'm good" I nod; giving a very quick, brief smile before getting serious again. I'm so not good. Nope. Not good whatsoever. I'm so nervous and I've never really been much of a team player. If I end up getting in the way, I can see this going badly.

~0~ 

"Better get ready guys, Loki's on the move" Natasha calls back. I took a deep breath; spinning the knife that I was holding. Captain Rogers stood up and put his helmet on; grabbing his shield soon after.  
I walked up to the front and stood beside him as we watched through the front of the jet; seeing the guy Loki, talking to a hostage crowd. Suddenly an older gentleman stood up; and Loki looked to him, raising his scepter. "Steve go; now!" Natasha called back as she lowered the ramp. He didn't hesitate before running off and jumping down. I ran over to the ramp and looked down as Captain Rogers landed and blocked the blue light that was shot from Loki's scepter.  
I felt the jet go higher in the air and Natasha turned it around. I walked back over towards the front quickly; looking through the cockpit window. She pushed a button that made a gun come down. "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down" she spoke up. Loki looked up at us in the jet before firing his scepter at us. She jerked the quinjet to the side and I got a glimpse as the Captain threw his shield at Loki and they engaged in fighting. I swallowed anxiously; wanting to kick some ass.

"Natasha-" I start; looking at her. She turned back to me.

"I think he's got it cover-" she stopped herself when he went flying across the pavement. I looked over as he pushed himself back up and threw his shield again; engaging back into the fight.

"Natasha, let me down there" I tell her. She finally cursed under her breath and unlocked the ramp; letting it go down.

"Don't get killed newbie" She yelled as I trapped into a harness and started to lower myself down. I ran past a few people; being pushed and bumped by several as I tried to make it closer to where the fight was.

I finally made it out of the crowd and saw Captain Rogers get hit in the back, rolling into the stairs. I watch as Loki walked over and I broke into a run.

"Kneel" Loki demanded.

"Not today" I called as I ran up and jumped; kicking him in the face before he stumbled and I fell to the ground; rolling across the pavement. I rolled into the stairs and could hear the sound of my head pounding as I hit it. I shook my head before pushing myself up; seeing Loki throw Captain Rogers to the ground as he rolled a few feet. I looked up; seeing him a couple yards away. He looked up and saw me before there was the sound of music blaring. He turned over and we both looked up; seeing a something fly closer. A shot was fired from it and hit Loki; making him fly back and land on the stairs. It was Iron Man. Captain Rogers pushed himself up and looked at Loki before running over to where I was. He held out a hand and I looked up before grabbing it and getting myself up.

"Thanks" I say; gritting my teeth as I rubbed my head. He gave me a nod before going over to where Iron Man was.

"Make a move reindeer games" I heard Mr. Stark speak up as he pointed several weapons at Loki. I walked over; standing slightly behind both of them. Loki's armor suddenly disappeared and he put his hands in the air slowly. Mr. Stark's suit's weapons went back into the interior parts of the mechanical machine. "Good move" He responded. Both Captain Rogers and I were breathing heavy before he spoke up.

"Mr. Stark" He spoke up; his breathing heavy.

"Captain" Iron Man turned to him slightly. Captain Rogers walked over seconds later and brought Loki to his feet. Putting a hand on Loki's shoulder he pushed him forward towards where Natasha was landing the quinjet. I put a hand through my hair; stopping as I felt something wet. I took my hand away and saw a bit of blood on my fingertips. I swallowed anxiously and looked around before wiping it off on the pants of my suit.

"Who are you?" I looked up as Iron was walking towards the jet and he stopped; looking at me through the helmet. I swallow again before responding.

"Nichole Woods" I reply.

"SHIELD?" I shake my head.

"No, I'm just here to help" I respond. He gave a curt nod before he walked towards the jet and I followed.

~0~ 

It had been about a half hour and we were all on the jet; heading back to the Helicarrier. Captain Rogers was standing to my left while Mr. Stark was standing somewhat to my left in front of me.

A few seconds went by before the speaker startled to crackle and a voice came over it.

"He saying anything?" It was Fury. Natasha glanced at the speaker.

"Not a word" she replies; her tone low. There was an irritated huff before Fury responded.

"Just get him here, we're low on time." And then the speaker cut. As it did Captain Rogers turned around somewhat; but still kind of facing us.

"I don't like it" He says.

"What, Rock of Ages giving up so easily?-" Mr. Stark replied; he took his helmet off a few minutes ago.

"I don't remember it being that easy." He says. "This guy packs a wallop" he turns back; looking at Loki.

"Still, you are pretty spry... For an older fellow" Mr. Stark says. I couldn't help but smirk; looking away a bit. If only you knew Mr. Stark. "What's your thing, Pilates?" He asked. Captain Rogers glanced at me briefly as I exchanged the glance also.

"What?" He asked; looking absolutely clueless.

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle." Mr. Stark turns to him. Captain Rogers looked a little irritated now.

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in" He says. Mr. Stark only gave a very small nod.

"Yeah. There's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you." Mr. Stark turned to him. I only swallowed; putting another hand through my hair and quickly glanced at my hand to see if I was still bleeding. Thankfully it had died down and wasn't too bad; probably just a scrap.

"So what exactly are you doing here?" I looked up; seeing Mr. Stark had turned to me.

"Like I said before, helping SHIELD." I reply. He narrowed his eyes a bit.

"How old are you kid?" He asked. I hesitate; keeping a straight face before cracking a smile. Then Captain Rogers did; realizing what he had asked.

"Depends. Physically I'm 20 or 22. But if you want to be logical... Then I'm actually older than Captain Rogers" I respond. He looked a bit confused. "I'm 140 years old, Mr. Stark. I don't age" I tell him; getting serious again. He looked a bit confused. For some reason, his expression made me think of him saying 'who the hell am I working with'.

"Huh" he says; nodding to himself after a few seconds. "Guess we got two old timers on the team now" he says before turning back.

"Wait, in not part of the team-" I start; getting cut off as Thunder and Lightning raged across the sky; very close to us.

"Where's this coming from?" Natasha mumbled as she pushed several buttons on the control panel on the jet. Lightning struck the sky again and I looked over; seeing Loki lean forward; looking around anxiously.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" The Captain asked. I glanced over as he did so before looking back at Loki.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." Loki responds. I glanced at both Captain Rogers and Mr. Stark. The Captain looked as if Loki was crazy and Mr. Stark didn't look convinced.

There was more thunder and a flash of lightning that almost hit the front of the jet. Suddenly there was a bang as something hit the roof. We all looked up and I started to feel my heart pound a bit faster.  
In seconds both the Captain and Mr. Stark put their helmets on and Mr. Stark walked towards the ramp; pushing the button for it to go down. It started to come down and both Captain Rogers and I looked over.

"What are you doing?" He called as Iron Man made it halfway down the ramp when someone landed on the ledge. We all stopped; seeing Thor. I glanced at Loki; seeing a slightly fearful expression on his face. Iron man had raised his hand to fire at Thor when he used his hammer to hit him in the chest. He flew back and crashed into me and I crashed into Captain Rogers before we were all on the floor. I'm not going to lie, his suit isn't light.

Iron Man had already pushed himself up and I had time to glimpse and see Thor grab Loki and fly out of the jet and down towards the ground below. More lightning and thunder was raging across the sky and they disappeared into the clouds.

"Now there's that guy" Iron Man mumbles.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha calls back.

"Think the guy's a friendly?" The Captain asked as he pushed himself up. Iron Man had already turned and to leave.

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost." Iron Man says.

"Stark. We need a plan of attack" Captain Rogers says back.

"I have a plan. Attack." And with that he flew off the jet and down towards the ground. I caught the Captain's irritated look before I pushed myself all the way to my feet.

"You good?" He asked me. I nodded.

"Besides from being crushed by a 300 pound chunk of metal, yeah I'm good" I reply. He gave me a nod before picking up a parachute. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked back at Natasha who was also looking over.

"I'd sit this one out Cap" She says.

"I don't see how I can" he responds as he fastened the parachute.

"These guys come from legends, they're basically gods" Natasha tells him in a serious and bit shaken tone. He finishes with the parachute before responding.

"There's only one God ma'am. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that" He says as he turned and jumped out of the jet; falling towards the surface. I swallowed before glancing back at Natasha who shook her head.

"Don't even think about it" She says. I don't respond; only grab the second parachute and start putting it on. "Nichole, of all people here, you shouldn't be down there" she says. I give her a barely noticeable shrug.

"I can't just sit here and do nothing Natasha, someone has to make sure they don't kill each other and lose Loki" I tell her. She doesn't respond; probably knowing that she's not changing my mind. I finally walked down the ramp and got to the ledge before jumping. The wind sped by my face as I plummeted towards the ground.

~0~ 

After landing on the ground and unhooking my parachute I started heading towards the sound. I heard several shots being fired from Iron Man's suit and at some point I heard the clanking of metal from Thor throwing his hammer at him.

This is getting crazy. I didn't size up for this! The good guys are supposed to fight the bad guys, not each other.

I was running through the forest as fast as I could when I looked up and saw Thor and Iron Man flying straight into a mountain and up the side.

"Screw going up that" I mumbled to myself. By the time I get over there they might be on the other side of the forest. I turned my gaze to the right slightly and saw none other than Loki. He was watching the fight from the top of the cliff. I took a deep breath before heading towards him.

 **Cliff Hanger! Mwahahaha! - Well… sort of, a cliff hanger… :) Anyway, please review if you liked it and also, as you can tell I'm do have to change the script up, but I will keep it as close to the original as I can. :) I hope you all liked this chapter I will update as soon as I can. XD**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **Hey guys! I'm in a bit of a hurry to post this before school! Enjoy!**

I pushed through the brush and tree branches as I finally made it to the cliff; looking for an easy way up. I looked left and right, trying to find how to get up when I saw the cliff descended farther down on my right. I broke into a run and after a minute or so I made it to the beginning of the rock formation.

I took a deep breath before starting to climb. Both my hands soon got a bit cut up and i gritting my teeth slightly as I pulled myself up farther and farther.

This is exactly where I never pictured myself tonight. I thought we'd be getting back to the Helicarrier right about now and I could get out of this god damn suit.

I took another step as I was climbing and suddenly Iron Man and Thor were crashing to the ground behind me about 200 feet away; still fighting.

I huffed before I continued to pull myself farther up the mountain.

"Men" I muttered to myself before taking another step. I finally made it to the top and got up; my hands stung a bit through the fingerless gloves and so did my legs a bit. I looked to my left and saw Loki was still watching the fight. I pulled my gun from my holster and walked over; my gun at the ready to fire.

I was behind him; so to be technical, he shouldn't know I'm here yet. I was about 20 feet away from him and he had the higher ground somewhat. I swallowed; feeling the sweat on my forehead before I got a bit closer.

"If you think you can sneak up on me mortal, then you are sadly mistaken." He spoke up. I clenched my jaw as I got closer.

"Put your hands where I can see them." I growl; trying to stay calm; knowing what this guy was capable of. He turned his head to the side; grinning at me.

"I can hear your voice shaking." He says. I swallow; my heart pounding in my chest. I held my gun up and suddenly heard yelling. We both turned and all I had time to see was Thor jump into the air and Captain Rogers was on the ground lifting his shield.

I had time to take in a breath before there was a echoing boom that shook the forest; flattening the trees. I dropped the ground and covered my head and neck as I wave of energy swept over the mountain; knocking Loki off his feet.

It felt like minutes went by before it grew quiet and I lifted my head and saw three figures pushing themselves to their feet down below. I immediately got to my feet and turned; my gun pointed on Loki. I took handcuffs from my belt and held them out.

"Hands behind your back" I growled. He just gave me a nod as he pushed himself to his feet and put his hands behind his back. I furrowed my eyebrows in anger. Why the hell is he going so easily. There has to be a catch here.

"Don't think I won't remove your head from your shoulders if you try anything." I snap at him. He laughs softly; making a chill run down my back.

"Oh I know you would, Nichole." He says; turning back to my slightly. I stopped; finishing with the handcuffs as I froze.

"How do you know my name" I say in a dark tone. He grins.

"I have my ways." He says. I stop; thinking for a moment. This just got serious. Shaking the thoughts from my head I pushed him down the way we came when Natasha brought the quinjet down in front of us.

"Hop in guys" She called. I pushed Loki up onto the ramp before getting on myself. She took the jet to the air again before coming down to where Captain Rogers, Thor, and Iron Man were. I pushed Loki down at he sat in the seat. Backing up s couple feet I stood with my arms crossed.

Natasha brought the quinjet to the ground and I saw the three walking towards the jet.

"Meet you guys back" I hear Iron Man say as he took of into the air. I watched as Thor followed the Captain up the ramp and they came into the main area where I was standing.

"What was all that about?" I asked; turning my attention to Captain Rogers. He looked over at me; taking his helmet off.

"Just a little misunderstanding" He responded; putting it down on the floor of the jet. I nodded after a few seconds. Before he spoke up again. "You get him back here by yourself?" He asked a bit quieter. I looked at Loki who was now shifting uncomfortably in his seat as Thor was standing a couple feet away from him; his gaze locked on Loki.

I gave a small nod over to the corner of the jet; near the cockpit. He only gave a small nod before we walked farther into the corner; I was slightly facing the cockpit and Captain Rogers was to my right; his hand supporting himself above the support arch of the ceiling.

"He came willing" I finally say; looking over at him. He looked at me as I spoke before furrowing his eyebrows.

"No fight" He responds. I shake my head.

"It's making me anxious. He's up to something" I reply. He gave a nod after a few seconds.

"I'll tell Fury to keep an eye on him" He says. I only nodded in return before I felt the jet taking off.

~0~

We had just gotten back and everyone except Fury were on the bridge. Natasha, me, Captain Rogers, Agent Hill, Thor, and Bruce Banner to be exact. At the moment Fury was detaining Loki. We were all watching the footage from the cameras. Captain Rogers was to my left and Natasha to my right. I was sitting at the table. There was an empty seat between me and the next person on either sides of me and Dr. Banner was somewhat behind me.

So far, this man; Loki; he really puts me on edge. The way he was speaking to me on the mountain; he made it sound like he knew something that I didn't. Well he did know my name, how the hell he knew it I don't have a clue.

I closed my eyes briefly; getting a hold of myself.

Christ, calm down Nichole he's just trying to get into your head.

I looked down at the screen again; seeing Loki glance up at the camera.

"A warm light for all mankind to share," I caught the end of his sentence. He was still looking at the camera and I could still hear that voice inside my head. "And then to be reminded what real power is" he ends; looking away from the camera at something else; probably Fury.

"Well let me know if real power wants a magazine or something" I could hear his voice of Fury in the background before Loki ended up looking back at the camera. I could tell he was directing that look at me... I just didn't know why. I was still staring at the camera as it went black and I blinked out of my thoughts.

"He really grows on you doesn't he?" I looked over at him as Dr. Banner spoke up.

"Loki's gonna drag this out.. So, Thor-" Captain Rogers spoke up; looking to Thor. "What's his play?"

"He has an army, called the Chitauri," Thor replies; his gaze was lost somewhere else before he looked over to us. "They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people, they will win him the earth... In return, I suspect for the Tesseract,"

"An Army..." The Captain trailed off; looking at us. "From outer space." I could tell he didn't believe it very much and neither did I. But... We do have a Asgardian standing in front of us...

"So he's building another portal" Dr. Banner was fiddling with his glasses in his hands as he spoke. "That's what he needs Eric Selvig for-"

"Selvig?" Thor spoke up; looking more into the conversation at the mention of this person. I didn't know who it was, I'm guessing he did though.

"He's an astrophysicist" Dr. Banner replies.

"He's a friend" Thor says back.

I glanced at everyone in front of me; looking at all of their expressions. None of them looked like they wanted to be friendly; more so like they just wanted to get this over with.

"Loki has him under some kind of spell..." Natasha says; then looks down. "Along with one of ours" she adds in a bit of a quieter voice. I furrowed my eyebrows; looking away for a moment. So Loki has two of ours on his side? Why wouldn't anyone tell me?

"I wanna know why Loki let us take him." Captain Rogers spoke up; glancing at everyone. "He's not leading an army from here." He says. I cleared my throat before speaking up.

"I agree..." Everyone looked over to me as I spoke. "He seemed to willing to come with us back at Stuttgart and on the mountain, he has another agenda that we don't know about" I add. Dr. Banner spoke up soon after.

"That may be true," He says. "But... I don't think we should be focusing on Loki, that guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him-"

"Have care how you speak." Thor spoke up. "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother" He finishes.

"He killed 80 people in two days." Natasha says in a dark tone; looking up at him. Thor hesitated before he responded quietly.

"He's adopted" I swallowed; my arms crossed over my chest. This is interesting; I honestly never thought I would be in this situation.

"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium; what do they need the iridium for-?"

"It's a stabilizing agent." Someone butted in. We all turned; seeing Mr. Stark and Agent Coulson walking in. Mr. Stark said something else to Coulson quietly that I couldn't hear before turning his attention on us.

"Means, the portal won't collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD," Mr. Stark explained. His eyes trailed over to Thor, who had his arms crossed. "No hard feelings point break, you gotta mean swing," He slapped Thor's arm lightly with the back of his hand as he walked by. I cracked a smile at the look Thor was giving him. "Also, it means the portal can stay open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants." He says; looking around at everyone; then back at the Agents on the bridge.

I rolled my eyes looking around before I glanced over at Captain Rogers; seeing he had the same expression. We both exchanged a glance before Mr. Stark spoke up louder.

"That man is play Galaga!" He announces. I saw Captain Rogers give a confused look; looking around; probably to see if anyone else understood the term "Galaga". I did actually know it. Lara indroduced me to a lot of things I never really caught onto or understood. But I had heard of the game, it sounded pretty fun. "Thought we wouldn't notice... But we did" he finishes and then furrowed his eyebrows; covering one of his eyes. "How does Fury even see these?" He asked; gesturing to the monitors.

"He turns." Agent Hill replied irritably. Mr. Stark only furrowed his eyebrows; turning.

"Sounds exhausting." He mumbles. I found myself rolling my eyes. "The rest of the raw materials. Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily." He was pressing several different buttons on the panels of the control center. "Only major component he still needs his a power source, of high energy density. Something to-" He snapped his fingers before clapping his hands together. "Kickstart the cube" He finishes with a shrug; putting his hands in his pockets.

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear-astrophysics." Agent Hill asked sharply.

"Last night" He responds. Both me and Agent Hill furrowed our eyebrows. "The packet; Selvig's notes; the extraction theory papers" he explains. "Am I the only one who did the reading?" He asked; pulling his hands out of his pockets and putting them in the air in question.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Captain Rogers asked; sounding eager to get back on topic.

I swallowed; my arms were still crossed as i leaned back in my seat.

"He'd have to heat the cube to hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the tunneling barrel-" Dr. Banner was slowly pacing at the back of the room as we turned around.

"Unless, Selvig has figured how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect" Mr. Stark added.

"Well if he could do that than he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet" Dr. Banner says back. I blinked a couple times. Mr. Stark gesture his hand towards Banner.

"Finally, someone who speaks English" He says; walking over to him. Captain Rogers turned back around; facing us.

"Is that what just happened?" He mumbled. I smirked.

"Nerds" I mumbled; catching him chuckling.

"It's good to meet you Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a, huge fan of the way you, lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster" Mr. Stark summed up. We all slowly turned around to look at him; I furrowed my eyebrows at his comment.

Dr. Banner looked at the ground. "Thanks" He replied. My eyes darted to the left as someone walked in.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube" Fury says as he walks in. "I was hoping you might join him."

"I'd start with that stick of his," The Captain spoke up. I turned to him. "It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon." He says.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered my the cube," Fury responds. "And I'd like to know how he used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." He says; his tone get a tad quieter as he spoke. Thor turned slightly; I could tell he was confused.

"Monkeys... I do not under-"

"I do" I looked over at Captain Rogers as he spoke up. He had lifted his hand; pointing as if he was about to raise his hand.

I caught Mr. Stark rolling his eyes slightly behind me. Captain Rogers let his hand drop back on the table; looking quite pleased before glancing back at Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark. I brought one hand up to my face to hide my chuckle; seeing him looking proud that he understood the Wizard of Oz reference. "I understood that reference" He says. I bit my lip; hiding my smile before Mr. Stark had turned back to Dr. Banner. They had a few last words before walking out.

It only took a few more moments for the room to split up. Thor started to talk with Agent Coulson and Agent Hill and Natasha walked back to the other side of the bridge.

I stretched my arm out a bit; feeling my suit squeezing the life out of me. It was probably a good time to get changed.

I got up and walked towards the hallway. After a couple minutes of walking down the hallway I walked passed the lab; seeing Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark inside working on Loki's scepter. I slowed down; thoughts and questions popped into my head. I had so many... Questions that is, about well, everything. Why am here, what this scepter thing is, why Loki was willing to come with us...

I shake the thoughts from my head before I started walking past the lab down the hall.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 **Hey guys! New chapter I hope you love it! XD Please review as well I like hearing what you all think; as you know :)**

So I decided not to change back into my other clothes. I don't really know when I'll be heading out for another "mission" so might as well be ready. I was just wondering the halls of the Helicarrier. I think I was going in circles.

Looking to my left I passed the lab again. But this time I saw Captain Rogers in there as well. I was about to keep walking when I saw him turn and go to leave; looking pissed off. Looks like him and Mr. Stark were arguing about something. I walked a bit faster as he walked out the door; a few feet in front of me.

"Captain" I spoke up. He stopped and turned; looking at me. "Anything new on the scepter?" I asked. He hesitated before shaking his head.

"No, not that I know of" He says; the irritation clear in his voice. I raise an eyebrow after a few seconds.

"Something wrong?" I asked. He looks at the ground and around for a moment before looking past me; slightly behind me.

"Do you think Fury's hiding something?" He asked finally. I take in a deep breath before responding.

"Seems there are already enough things that he never told me about," I reply; crossing my arms. "Why is there something else?" I furrow my eyebrows. His eyes glance back behind me before he took a step forward.

"I'm gonna find out" He says; finally walking around me. I turned around; seeing him glance back. "You coming?" I looked around; seeing Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark talking in the lab. I finally gave a nod before following him.

~0~

I was still following Captain Rogers down the hall when we came to a sealed door. He stopped; looking in the small window.

"Do you know what we're looking for?" I asked; walking up on his right. He glanced at me before looking back into the window.

"You probably wouldn't know what it was, but, they're was a group of Nazi scientists-"

"Hydra?" I cut him off. He looked over at me.

"Yeah, how did you-"

"Well I did live through the Second World War Captain. I was actually stationed in Germany with American troops for a while as I combat nurse." I say.

Unfortunate women fighting in the war wasn't too common. Some people were lucky enough to get in, but others it was close to impossible. With my skill I could have gotten in easily... But I couldn't afford that luxury of having a choice...

He looked confused; then slowly spoke up.

"Did we ever like, meet or-"

"No, but we always got news of where you were; what battles you won and such" I explain. He nods after a few seconds.

"Well," He started. "If I know anything. It's that Fury probably knows how to tell a lie or two, and something tells me Hydra's involved." He says.

"You mean, like with the scepter; it working like one of the weapons Hydra designed," I respond; thinking back to what he said on the bridge. He gave me a nod before pulling the door. I flinched as the auto lock snapped and he pulled it open all the way; looking around inside. He took a step in before stopping.

"You know, you don't have to do this" He says. I smirk and chuckle.

"I'm not turning back now Captain, so let's go" I nod inside. He smirks before giving a nod as we walked inside. I looked around and caught glimpse of two Agents walking around up top. I slapped his arm lightly with the back of my hand to get his attention before nodding up top. He gave a nod before jumping off a crate to our right and grabbing the railing of the second level; pulling himself over. I looked up as he did so and grumbled quietly under my breath. Now I need a stair case.

I huffed and blew hair from my face before walking farther inside the room; looking around all the bins and crates.

So this is definitely not what I pictured myself doing here. But if Captain Rogers thinks that something's up than I'm willing to help find out. I for one have trust issues beyond anyone here though...

Only reason I'm helping these people at all is because I like living and not having my planet taken over by beings from another galaxy.

I finally found some stairs and I quickly jogged up them; getting to the top. Captain Rogers was about 20 feet away looking at a few crates.

I tucked the strand of hair behind my ear before walking over to a few crates to my right. Unlatching the locks; I opened them, seeing some old files and other documents. I furrowed my eyebrows when I saw a file tab.

I glanced around the corner; seeing the Captain was busy with something else; not paying any attention to what I was doing which is what I need.

I looked back at the file and pulled it out; seeing that it was a file that was clearance level 7. Just like the Tesseract; clearance level 7.

My eyes glanced up to the bolder word: WOODS. Swallowing I finally opened the file and felt my mouth dry at what I saw.

It was my father.

He was a scientist during the 1800's that worked on many different healing methods for soldiers, civilians, all sorts of people. This is what I believed that led to what he gave me at a young age.

I glanced through several of the images; most of them my father wasn't looking at the picture, but it was hard to tell with how cameras were back then. Because the camera was so new still; photos were a bit harder to keep in mint condition; so they were old and faded.

I furrowed my eyebrows when I saw a old; ripped picture of a young girl in a small light blue dress; holding the hand of a young boy.

I felt tears swell in my eyes as I held them back.

It was me with my little brother.

I touched the photo lightly; it was in a plastic bag; more so an evidence bag to preserve the continence.

I quickly put everything back into the file; putting it on the crate next to me before closing up the one I had open. I picked up the file and walked around the corner; seeing Captain Rogers opening a crate when he stopped.

"What is it?" I asked; walking up on his left when I stopped too; seeing why he now looked very mad and a bit pissed off. "Hydra... That lying bastard" I mumbled; seeing the Hydra logo on the guns. Captain Rogers didn't say anything; only stared at the guns and helmets a bit longer before grabbed the gun in front of him and walking towards the stairs.

Furrowing my eyebrows I followed him.

"Captain, where are you going?" I asked; jogging to catch up with him as we walked down the stars.

"To get some answers" He replied before I followed him out the door.

~0~

I followed Captain Rogers down the hall; my file was still in hand as we walked right into the lab. I felt a wave of hate and confusion wash over my as I saw Fury was talking to Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner.

"What is Phase 2?" I heard Mr. Stark speak up. I flinched only slightly as Captain Rogers slammed the gun down on the table.

"Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons" He starts. "Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me"

What?! Why the hell wasn't I- or anyone else told about this?!

"Does this mean blowing up our own god damn planet is the second option after you all fail to do your jobs?" I demanded in a lower tone.

"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. And Miss Woods, this does not mean that-"

"I'm sorry Nick" Mr. Stark starts; turning the computer screen to face us. I felt my expression go dark when I saw nuclear weapon prototypes on the screen. "What were you lying?" I glanced over at the door as Natasha and Thor came in. Oh no, everyone is in here, I can see this getting bad.

"I was wrong Director," Captain Rogers started. "The world hasn't changed a bit."

"Did you know about this?" Dr. Banner asked; looking at me.

"Oh is this on me now, is it?" My voice quickly became hostile.

"Well you're a part of this "team" so yes, I think that a vigilant is questionable in this room right no-"

"Call me that again Banner and I swear I'll-"

"Do what?" He started; getting angry. I clenched my jaw; my eyes burned with fury before I finally backed down a bit. He has a point.

"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment Doctor?" Natasha took a few steps forward; seeing that I kinda ticked him off.

"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed" He responded.

"Loki is manipulating you"

"And you've been doing what exactly?" He asked smugly.

"You didn't come here cause I bat my eyelashes at you" Natasha made clear.

"And I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy" he says; walking over to the monitor and pointing at the weapons with his pen. "I'd like to know, why SHIELD's using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction." Dr. Banner says. It got quiet for a moment and I looked to Fury as he pointed to Thor.

"Because of him" He says. Everyone furrowed their eyebrows, I noticed as Thor looked confused.

"Me?" He pointed to himself slightly; his arms crossed.

"Last year Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge mass that leveled a small town," Fury explains. "We learned not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously outgunned" Fury turned to Captain Rogers before nodding to the Hydra weapon on the table.

"My people want nothing but peace with you planet" Thor argued. I could tell he meant that and I don't see why he would lie about it in the first place.

"Yeah, but you're not the only people out there are you?" Fury says back. "And, you're not the only threat. The worlds filing up with people that can't be matched," Fury says; glancing at everyone... And then me. "That can't be controlled" He adds.

"Like you controlled the cube?" Captain Rogers replied back. I could tell he was really pissed off with this stunt that Fury pulled; they all were, so was I, and that was just fueling the fire.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is a signal to all the Realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war." Thor made clear.

"I higher form?" The Captain spoke up. I took in a breath; glancing around at everyone. This was getting uncomfortable.

"You forced our hand. We had to come up with a-"

"A Nuclear deterrent," Mr. Stark spoke up. "Cause that always calms everything right down." He nods to himself; making Fury turn to him.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune Stark?" Fury replied.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep in-..."

"Wait wait! Hold on, how is this now about me?" Mr. Stark but back into the conversation. Captain Rogers turned back to him before making a sarcastic comment.

"I'm sorry, isn't everything?"

"I thought humans were more evolved than this" Thor spoke up; obviously a bit disappointed.

"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Fury demanded; turning to him. Suddenly everyone burst into a gigantic argument.

"Are you boys really that naive? SHIELD monitors potential threats"

"Captain America is a threat? What?" I heard Banner speak up.

"We all are"

"You're on that list?" I heard Mr. Stark. "Are you above or below angry beast-"

"Stark so help me God, you make one more remark-" I heard Captain Rogers speak up before Mr. Stark cut him off again.

"Ah! Horrible threat! I feel threatened!"

Several other arguments were going on at once before I closed my eyes; trying to block it all out and not get drawn in when Thor'a voice became a bit louder.

"You speak of control yet you cause chaos!" Thor pointed out. And I have to admit he might be right in a few ways with that.

"Oh- well it's his M.O. Isn't it?" Bruce spoke up and the argument seemed to quiet for a moment. "I mean, what are we a team?" He seemed to chuckle. "No no, we're a chemical mixture that makes chaos we're- we're a time bomb" He says. I started to see him becoming uneasy. My heartbeat sped up dramatically and I knew that if this wasn't stopped we have much bigger and most likely greener problems on our hands.

"You need to step away" Fury started; taking a step forward.

I began to walk forward to try and take a less offensive approach when Mr. Stark spoke up.

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" He started; and I felt a hand come down on my shoulder to somewhat stop me and I got ready to turn and knock him on his ass.

"You know damn well why!" I heard Captain Rogers raise his voice and hit his hand from my shoulder before stepped somewhat between me and him. "Back off" He made clear.

I felt my eyebrows shoot up just a hair before I stopped; something told me this just got a lot worse.

"You know, I'm starting to want you to make me" Mr. Stark replied in a lower tone. I only saw Captain Rogers smile before taking a step to the left.

"Yeah... Big man in a suit of armor" He starts; walking around so that Mr. Stark was a tad behind me and Captain Rogers was to my 3 o clock (my immediate right). "Take that off what are you" He demanded. Mr. Stark only turned to look at him as he responded.

"Genies Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist" He responded. I managed to catch Natasha raising her eyebrows slightly before giving a small agreement shrug.

"I know guys with none of that worth 10 of you... And I've seen the footage" The Captain spoke. "The only thing you really fight for is yourself." I could see Mr. Stark about ready to lose it and I got ready to intervene if necessary. "You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play; to lay down on the wire and let the other guy crawl over you?" He said.

"I think I would just cut the wire" Mr. Stark looked back up at him. Captain Rogers smiled before glancing at all of us including me.

"Always a way out" He said; turning back to him. "You know you may not be a threat but you better stop pretending to be a hero" He made clear.

"A hero? Like you?" Mr Stark challenged. "You're a laboratory experiment Rogers; everything special about you came out of a bottle" He growled; take a step forward. It was as if they were trying to intimidate each other.

I got ready to intervene when the Captain took a step back, I was about to let my guard down, until I heard his next reply.

"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds" He challenged. I furrowed my eyebrows only slightly.

Something definitely different between these two, considering I read in the file that the Captain was close friends with Mr. Stark's father; Howard Stark.

He was big news back in the 40's I remember American troops talking about how he worked on some big name weapons that were made confidential.

I got taken out of my thoughts; hearing Thor laughing.

"You people are so petty, and tiny" He seemed amused at this.

"Agent Romanoff would you escort Dr. Banner back to his-" Fury had turned to Natasha when Dr. Banner cut him off.

"Where? You're renting in my room" He joked in a angered sort of way.

"The cell was just in case-"

"Case you needed to kill me but you can't I know I tried" He raised his voice. We all stopped and looked over at him as he said this. I furrowed my eyebrows slightly. Dr. Banner looked down before looking back up at us. "I got low... I didn't see an end, so, I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out" He says. I felt a stab of guilt, knowing he had enough anger and emptiness to just go and do that. "So I moved on, I focused on helping other people, I was good." He soon became more angry. "Until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk, you wanna know my secret Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?"

I had zoned out of what he was saying as Loki's scepter was in his hand when I looked down.

"Dr. Banner..." I heard Captain Rogers speak up; this time a little less hostile. "Put down the scepter"

Everyone was looking at him by the time he realized he was holding it before putting it down. There was a sudden beep from behind us when we all turned.

"We got it" Mr. Stark announced. The Tesseract. We found it, thank god. "I can get there faster!"

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it," Thor made clear.

"Well you're not going alone" Captain Rogers grabbed Mr. Stark's arm to stop him when he slapped it away.

"You gonna stop me?"

"Put on the suit let's find out"

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man"

"Put on the suit" He snapped. It was as if they were trying to intimidate each other again when I looked over and saw Dr. Banner was confused.

"Doctor?" I spoke up slowly. He took his glances from his face before looking up.

"Oh my god" He breathed.

Seconds later the Carrier was shaking violently and fire burst from the vent beneath us. I flew to the side and hit a counter before falling to the floor.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

 **Hey everyone! :) I'm glad I have people that like this story so far. I know it's getting off to a slow start but I'm trying to make it a bit interesting. ALSO! As some of you know, in my other story A Place to Call Home; I mentioned this story was named after the book/movie Safe Haven and I actually got a bit of my inspiration to write this story from that movie. You guys may probably see the resemblance later (If you read the book/saw the movie). Don't worry, you'll start seeing some of Nichole's past too later on! :)**

I managed to lift my head as the Helicarrier finished shaking; seeing everyone on the floor. I saw Captain Rogers pushing himself up and so was Tony.

I looked over at the window; seeing Natasha and Dr. Banner had fallen out that way while Thor had rolled into the hall and Fury was coming-to.

"Put on the suit" I heard the Captain say before Tony responded. I glanced over and saw Captain Rogers helping Tony get to his feet before running down the hall.

I looked back down at the floor before pushing the hair from my hair; it only fell back down around my face and I felt very lightheaded and everything had an echo.

I suddenly felt someone shaking me and I looked up to see Captain Rogers came back in the room.

"Hey, hey Nichole can you hear me?" His voice was dull and echoed in my ears but I nodded. He helped me to my feet and within seconds my hearing was back to normal and all of my senses came back. "You ok?" He asked. I nodded before swallowing.

"Hill?" I heard Fury from behind me. Steve looked back at me and I looked up at him.

"I'm fine, go" I say. He nodded before running out of the room. I looked back over around the room; seeing Thor was gone and Fury was pushing himself up. "Stark you copy that?" He spoke up again. I swallowed and pushed the hair from my face before Fury was on his feet. "Woods" He looked to me. I stood up straighter.

"Sir?"

"Take this," He hands me something. I look at it in my hand and see that is was a com link; like the one Natasha had been using. "You'll need that" He says. I nod and put it in my left ear before I followed him out of the room.

"Coulson-" I ducked as a piece of debris fell to my left as we ran for the door; not hearing a bit of what he said. "-then get to the armory," Fury says as he walks out of the room with me following. "Romanoff?"

"We're ok" I hear Natasha's voice in my ear. Fury ran down the hall and slowed down; turning to me.

"I need you to go help Stark and Rogers get the Engine up and running" I say. I only give a nod.

"Where"

"At Engine 3" Fury responds. I give him a nod before running down the hall. It took me a good minute or two to realize I had no idea where I was going. I slowed down before pressing my finger to the com link.

"Anyone copy?" I asked. I waited for a couple seconds. "Does anybody copy?" I repeat.

"Nichole?" I heard Captain Rogers voice.

"Captain, I'm on my way to your location. Got any clues for how to get there" Wow. Damn it Nik, that's embarrassing.

"Yeah, where are you?"

"Hall way D, Level 2" I reply after looking at the plaque on the wall.

"You're almost there just keep go-" His voice was cut off and he mumbled something. "Stark, it seems to run on some form of electricity" I hear him reply. I don't bother speaking up. I guess he meant to just keep going this way?

"Well, you're not wrong" I heard Mr. Stark's reply.

Swallowing; I finally got myself moving and I looked down the walkway that was covered in debris and thick with some smoke. I started walking ahead down the hall when two men in black uniform ran around the corner. I stopped in my tracks and they stop as well; looking at me before raising their guns. I rolled to the side and pulled the gun from the back waist line from my jeans; firing several shots in their direction.

"Ok the relays are intact. What's our next move?" I heard Captain Rogers speaking. I managed to hit one of the men in the leg before I got up and ran at the closest one which I had shot in the leg; jumping and wrapping my legs around his neck before spinning and snapping his neck as we rolled down to the ground.

"Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won't re-engage without a jump. I'm gonna have to get in there and push." I heard Mr. Stark's reply to him. Pushing myself up I turned to see the other man still standing before he pulled a pistol off his belt and fired it at me. I rolled to the side before hiding behind a piece of debris; my back to it.

"Well if that thing gets up to speed you'll get shred-" Several shots that whizzed by my head cut the sound of the Captain's voice off. I looked around; trying to find my gun but it wasn't anywhere near me.

"That standard control unit can reverse the polarity long enough to disengage maglev and that should-"

"God damn it Stark, speak English. No one knows what the hell that means" I snap. It got quiet from both of them and I had to smirk.

"And on that kind note from Woods, Cap- you see that red lever?" It was quiet for a few moments. "It'll slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out, stand by it, wait for my word" Mr. Stark finished before it went quiet.

It took me a couple of seconds to realize that the firing has stopped. I looked up before seeing that the guy had walked out towards the open area of Engine 3. I looked farther before seeing Captain Rogers was about to jump over to where the red lever was on the right side of the carrier wall, or what was left of it. Seconds later he jumped over; his eyes on the level and the man in front of me ran out into the open area with a gun in hand.

"Crap" I muttered. I ran out and immediately felt the wind slamming into me from the outside. It was a bit harder to breathe with the high winds but I tried my best to calm my breathing before I ran up to the guy; kicking his feet out from under him. I didn't see though that he had a grenade in his hand... He threw it up towards where the Engine was but Captain Rogers jumped back over and kicked it down; it exploding only meters away from the under part of the carrier.

Within those few seconds, the man and I were both on our feet and he threw a punch that I blocked before I suddenly got dragged back by something. An arm was pulled around my neck and I was dragged back towards the hall. I saw Captain Rogers jump down onto the same platform we were on about 10 feet away before he punched the one guy that had the grenade. A second man had run past us along with a third and ran towards him but he kicked the gun from the second's hand before kicking him in the chest; making him fly back a couple feet from where I was. The third tried to throw a punch but Captain Rogers easily blocked it before grabbing him by the vest and throwing him off the carrier. As he was fighting those men off I had brought my hand back and grabbed the back of the man's neck; using my body weight to push off him before tucking and rolling down; making him hit hard on his back.

I pushed him off before kicking him in the jaw; making him groan and fall unconscious. The click of a safety being turned off made me turn to see another guy with a gun. I was about to act when I was pushed to the left and out of the way before Captain Rogers was hurling a piece of metal in his direction; it slicing right into the back wall of the carrier hallway. He gave me a nod before nodding up. I looked up and grabbed the railing of the next-level platform; using my upper body strength to pull myself up before I got up to the platform. It only took a few seconds later for the assailant to come around the corner and start shooting at us. The Captain jumped up to where I was before; grabbing the gun that was lying on the ground of the narrowed part of the platform. I backed up several feet until I realized I was standing next to the lever.

I looked up and saw the assailant firing several rounds up towards us before Captain Rogers started to fight back. He backed up a bit; about 4 feet in front of me before he fired several rounds again, glancing back at me before looking back over at the opponent.

Realizing he was giving me cover so I could pull the lever I quickly decided to keep an ear open incase Mr. Stark had anything to say about when.

I looked over; seeing the assailant come into view again before firing several rounds a bit to close I could say for comfort. He fired back but the projectiles went in all directions; I could tell he wasn't exactly experienced with "today's" firearms.

"Here, give me that" I sigh before taking the gun from him; stepping farther out -almost next to him- before aiming. As soon as I saw him in my line of sight by just a hair I pulled the trigger... Nothing happened. "You emptied the magazine" I mumble before looking at him.

"I'm sorry that wasn't exactly my first thought when trying to act on this situation" He replies in a tone that I would have; at first, thought of as hostile. But that's somewhat understandable after what happened in the lab- what the hell, this wasn't the time or place to discuss in my head.

I opened my mouth to tell him a plan when we both looked over; hearing and almost seeing the bullets piercing the walls around us before I fell to the right; feeling something penetrate my leg. I heard metal slipping before I was able to lift my head and see the Captain fall off the carrier.

"Steve!" I yelled before going to push myself up; seeing he had grabbed a cable and had not yet fallen. I don't know why I yelled his first name, I had only called him that once or twice I think… like ever. I looked down at my leg; seeing that I was hit... Damn, this was a first. I had only been hit in the leg by a bullet once in my thigh. But I hadn't had one in the calf before, all I can say is it stings like hell. I went to push myself up before bullets were speeding by all around me. I was forced to drop back down to the ground.

Well this is just great. I could not have gotten myself into a worse situation.

"Cap hit the lever." I heard Mr. Stark's voice over the com link; sounding tired out.

"I need a minute here!" I heard him yell to my right and also in my com link.

"Woods? ...Someone, lever... Now!" He yelled. I heard a slight bang in metal and I saw Captain Rogers had gotten a hand back on the platform.

"Uh oh" I heard a mumble from Mr. Stark; making me speed up my painful pace as I heard a ton of clanging metal over the com link from him. I had started to somewhat army crawl over to the lever; reaching up for it without having to put a lot of wait on my leg. Round after round of deadly projectiles started to fire all around him and I before I finally got a handle on the lever at the same time as he did, before we quickly pulled it down.

It felt like forever went by before the Captain went to push himself up. I could tell he was a bit weak and tired; he probably wasn't able to breathe when hanging off the side of the carrier with those high winds blasting by.

The assailant seemed to have several magazines of ammo and I finally heard the sound of engines in the distance and next thing I knew; Iron Man was flying into the carrier and ramming the guy that had been a pain in our butts for the last 5 minutes.

He rolled off the now unconscious body and his suit died out. That was all I saw before I started to realize how weak I was feeling now before I finally sat up; against the wall about 2 or so feet away from Captain Rogers; he was looking at the ground and breathing exceptionally heavier than I was. I didn't really do much of anything though... That just shows how much help I am of here and proves my point of why I don't work for SHIELD.

I finally took in a couple deep breaths before looking over at where Mr. Stark was. He was getting to his feet before I could see the Captain doing the same out of the corner of my eye.

Biting my lip I used the railing to pull myself to my feet. I couldn't keep the painful grunt from escaping my mouth as I put too much weight down on my leg. Mr. Stark and Captain Rogers both ended up looking at me but I think the Captain was the first to see my leg.

"You were hit?" He asked; taking a couple steps over. I just nod.

"I'm fine" Was all I said in assurance through clenched teeth before taking a few limping mini steps.

"Do you need any help?" He asked. I look back over at him before realizing we had to get down a good 7 foot drop to get back inside the carrier and over to where Mr. Stark was. I swallowed before glancing down at my leg; realizing I could barely walk at the moment.

I finally give a small nod. He gave me a nod in return before walking over. I lifted my arm and he put it around his shoulder before helping me get over to the farther side of the platform that was a bit narrow. As we slowly got over there I heard someone speak into the com and I made an abrupt stop.

"Agent Coulson is down." Fury spoke.

We all froze where we stood and I completely forget about my leg as I suddenly felt weak and vulnerable.

"A medical team is on its way to your location-" An agent says quickly.

"They're here" Fury replied. There was a pause. I felt my breathing get shallow and I felt like I knew what he was about to say... And I was right...

"They called him"

 **Please review if you liked it :) I was about ready to shed a tear as I had to type those last few sentences. That was so sad; I remember what it was like watching it in the theater. All I could hear were gasps and shocked voices... It was so sad though! :,( But thank God Coulson is alive now XD**

 **ANYWAY! Sorry I ramble a lot. I always end up putting a lot in the author notes cause I like talking to you all XD So yeah, please review if you liked it I love seeing what you all think and I really am hoping that this will turn out to be a god story! I have big plans that won't end any time soon. So I hope that will be good news to your all's ears! XD**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

 **I KNOW I KNOW IT'S A LONG AUTHOR NOTE BUT I ENCOURAGE YOU TO PLEASE READ :) THANK YOU!**

 **Hi everyone :) Just wanna take a moment and say that it's really amazing that I have people who take the time to read this story. I used to say that I'm a fairly new writer but that's not exactly true anymore since I just had my "1 year anniversary of being on Fanfiction" a few months ago. XD I love it when you all review and tell me what you think, and I also love to hear I you guys have any suggestions or requests for ideas regarding this story. The one thing that I love about writing and updating my stories is that I can listen to what you all have to say and it really helps when you guys tell me how I can make things better or how I can make my writers happy. Because that is my absolute first priority! Making my readers happy! :D That sounded so cheesy- and on that note!**

 **EmilyRose475: About Nichole having an ability; so I know this was said a couple times but just to recap, she's basically somewhat of a master assassin with expert martial arts skills and she does not age. :) Hope that cleared it up! And I'm glad you like it! XD**

 **Juliet and Molly: Thank you guys so so so so much! :) Getting to see you guys review and knowing how much of an inspiration I am means so much to me! I think I almost teared up a bit when reading one of your reviews actually… XD I think I'm tearing up again darn it X'D I love both your guys stories and I can't wait to read the next coming chapters of it! :) I check once a day so I will not miss it!**

 **OK! Let us enjoy thy might chapter now! :) I'm sorry I just love writing this; with the whole Steve and Nichole thing I just can't wait to start writing and exploring their relationship in the future *squeal*.., SORRY! Here's the chapter XD**

I couldn't breathe... Couldn't think. He was just gone. Just like that. After all those times over the last few years that he tried to convince me to give this whole SHIELD thing a go... He's gone.

After managing to get off the platform on the outside of the carrier I limped out past Iron Man and down the hall towards where I overheard the medical team say Coulson was located.

"Nichole-" I heard Captain Rogers behind me before he jogged up and stepped in front of me to get me to stop. I made another abrupt stop but quickly shifted my weight to my leg that wasn't injured. "Just hold on a minute you need to go it the infirmary" He starts.

"Coulson's dead, Captain" I make clear. "Why should this be of any importance right now- I need to be there" I make clear; stepping to the left to go past him but all he did was step to his right to stop me.

"Nichole you need to see a doctor" He in a serious tone. I gave him a stone cold glare for a moment before my gaze softened a bit. I know he's right... But I need to be there, Coulson is the only reason that I am here and I need to be there with him right now.

I swallowed and put a hand through my hair before giving a small nod; sniffing in a breath.

"Alright fine" I breathe in a quieter voice. Before I could say anything else he walked up and gently lifted my arm over his head and on his opposite shoulder and let me put a bit of my weight on him before we started walking down the hall.

"How bad does it hurt?" He asked after a few seconds. I blink before giving a small shrug.

"Maybe a 6 on a 1-10 scale, but I've had worse" I respond. He nodded after a couple seconds as we walked around a bend. I furrowed my eyebrows when I saw someone on a stretcher being led by two doctors and a guard towards a room. I saw Natasha hastily following. I somewhat forced myself to walk faster.

"Natasha who's that?" I asked; seeing a man that had blonde hair and a SHIELD uniform being led into the room.

"It's Clint, I'll explain later." She says quickly and then stops before she walked in. "You get shot?" She asked after seeing that Steve was acting as my right foot to keep me balanced. I just nod.

"Yeah, but I'm fine," I quickly say to get off the topic. "You ok?" She nodded before looking into the room.

"We'll check back later ok?" Natasha says. I give her a nod before she walked into the room. We started walking down the hall again before making it to an infirmary room a couple doors down. As soon as we got in he let go of my arm and I slowly sat down on the hospital bed.

"I'll see if I can find someone-" He starts before walking towards the door.

"Uh, Captain?" I start. He was halfway out the doorway when he stopped; looking back at me. "Thank you"

He blinked after a couple seconds before giving a small smile and I nod; disappearing down the hall. I looked down at my suit and at my leg; seeing the material was ripped when the bullet hit. I grasped the material and clenched my teeth together before tearing it; making the whole bigger in my new suit; inspecting the wound. It was a mess; a thick trail of warm blood was running down my leg and over the suit. So much for keeping it clean.

I looked up when I heard footsteps and someone in a white coat walked in; a doctor obviously.

"Alright Miss Woods, let's get that bullet out." He says. "It wasn't a through and through correct?" He asked; making me give a nod in return. He nods and I see him start to disinfect some surgical tweezers over at the counter. I swallowed and let out a steady breath.

Damn, I just know this is gonna hurt.

My eyes shot over to the door when I saw Captain Rogers had walked back in. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What er you doing back?" I asked; starting to feel the lightheadedness kicking it. He crossed his arms; leaning in the doorway.

"Just making sure you're ok" He says after a few seconds.

"Alright Miss Woods, now I'll be giving you a sedative-"

"No" I say immediately.

"Miss Woods without the sedative this will be extremely painf-"

"I know but I need to get back out there in less than a few hours, just do it" I make clear; sitting back against the wall. The bed was in the back left corner when you walked in so I was sitting with my legs off the side.

He finally nodded before picking up the surgical tweezers and walking towards me. He brought over a small table and put a pillow on it before gently putting my foot on it so my leg was elevated. He picked up the tweezers again and I knew he was about to start.

"Wait-" I make myself speak up and the doctor stopped as he approached me with the surgical tweezers. "Got anything I can hold when you do this?" I ask. Every time I got hurt throughout the years and needed to be patched up, I usually got to hold or bite something. Back in the day I actually and literally had to bite the bullet. But now I usually would grip something in my hand.

"Uh" He looked around before going back over to the counter. "Yeah let me see if I can find something," He trails off before searching the cupboards. I give a small nod before looking over at Captain Rogers who was still in the doorway.

"You don't have to waste your time by staying here you know, I'm fine" I tell him. He shrugs after a few seconds.

"I don't mind" He replies. I hesitate and then nod after a couple seconds before looking around the room; seeing no chairs.

"Wanna sit? If you're so keen on staying that is" I force myself to say; trying to be somewhat nice. "I don't bite" I try to say humorously. He cracks a smile before pushing off the doorway and walking over; sitting to my right about 2 feet away at the edge of the bed facing to same direction that I was.

"Miss Woods it appears I don't have anything available" The doctor says; making me look over. I finally sigh and nod.

"Get it over with then" I mumble; sitting all the way back against the wall. He gave me a nod before he was about to start. I took a few big and deep breaths before feeling the metal touch my skin. I immediately squeezed my eyes shut before feeling my fists clench. The feeling of the metal digging around my skin was freaking unbearable; just the slow pain is what really got to me.

"Ok stop-" I say with a struggle breath. He took the tweezers away and I got in a few breaths after I had been holding it in.

"You ok?" I heard Captain Rogers from my right. I waited a few seconds before I got my breath back.

"Mind if I borrow your hand for a few minutes," I breathe; closing my eyes and leaning my head back. I open my eyes again before seeing him nod and hold out his left hand for me to grasp. I held it in my right before looking at the doctor. I gave him a small nod and he started again. I immediately tightened my grip on his hand and closed my eyes again before letting my head fall back against the wall.

"Son of a bitch-!" I blurted and instinctively scooted back when I felt a sudden sharp pain on top of him digging for the bullet. I opened my eyes at that time and saw the Captain cracking a very very small smile at my comment probably.

It felt like minutes were going by and he was just digging around. All I wanted to do was move around as much as possible; it was so freaking painful and almost an annoying feeling.

I couldn't even feel my own hand anymore from gripping his so hard and I glanced at him for a brief second; seeing he was trying to hide a bit of a pained face. I bit my lip before feeling the tweezers hit something in my calf.

"Damn it that- holy shit ow!" I almost yelled; feeling him pull the bullet from my leg and I sucked in a breath. He held it up; inspecting it.

"Bullet's not damaged so that means no fragments are in the leg," he says; looking at me with an amused smile. "Now all I have to do it wrap this up in a bandage." He says before getting up and walking to the counter.

I realized I was still gripping Captain Rogers' hand like it was my life line before I let go.

"Sorry" I give an apologetic look.

"No need to apologize... You're just a bit stronger than you look" He says before rubbing his hand with his other. He was still wearing his suit so he had the red gloves that go with his suit on.

I give a small smile before also giving a small nod.

"Thanks" I breathe; trying to give a smile before the doctor walked back over. "Oh- you should probably go see what's going on with Fury and everyone else," I add. He nods before glancing at the door.

"Yeah I'm heading there now," He says; putting a hand through his hair. I nod again before he gave a small smile and walked out of the room.

~0~

About 30 minutes later the doctor finished wrapping the bandage around my leg. After he left I got off the bed and put weight on it before taking a few small steps around the room. I had to limp a bit but otherwise it felt a whole lot better.

I was about to sit back down but decided against it; walking out of the room I turned left and went up to the door that Natasha had gone into. I walked up and used the hand scanner to open the door; seeing Natasha was sitting by the bed of the guy Clint. Now that I think about it I read the file about someone named Clint Barton when Coulson gave me the file. He was a marksmen; archer if you didn't know the term.

I felt myself tense a bit at the mention of Coulson before I walked into the room. Natasha looked up when I limped in and sat down by the door.

"Are you feeling any better?" She asked; sitting up a bit. I adjusted myself after I sat down before hesitating my shrug.

"Yeah... I'm doing fine I guess, just-" I swallowed; looking at the ground.

"Thinking about Coulson" She finishes quietly. I give a small nod before looking back up at her.

"So is he ok?" I ask. She nods after a few seconds.

"Yeah, just gave him a hard hit in the head" She smiles. I crack a smile before looking around the room.

"So what happened? Was it Loki?" I ask. She sits up a bit more before responding.

"Yeah, he's gone" She says first. Damn it, I knew something was up. "Banner's gone, and Thor's gone. Both fell off the carrier, they should be fine though" Natasha adds. I nod; taking a deep breath before sitting back a bit.

"I'm going to go talk to Director Fury" I say before getting to my feet. I could see a look I of concern on her face.

"You should probably rest for a little don't you think?" She spoke up. I smirk before walking for the door.

"You sound like Captain Rogers" I respond in an amused tone. I hear her chuckle before I walked out the door.

~0~

I walked onto the bridge of the Carrier and saw Mr. Stark walk past me. He seemed mad and upset. I saw Captain Rogers sitting at the main table and Fury was standing near the control center of the bridge.

I hid my limp best I could as I walked up to Director Fury.

"Sir" I spoke up. I don't know why I'm saying sir. It's better than saying "hey sup" I guess.

"Miss Woods" He responds; looking down at one of the control panels.

"I'm sorry about Agent Coulson" I reply in the most emotionless tone I was able to conjure. He hesitates before speaking up; pressing something on the panel.

"He was one of our best agents," He says. "He also spoke very highly of you" He said; looking at me. I swallowed before glancing at the ground before looking around. Don't give in; he just wants to make you feel bad so you'll consider joining SHIELD-... What the hell Nik, now's not to think about that.

"I'll have an agent take you back to the infirmary-"

"Thank you Director" I say in a clear voice; backing up a bit. "But I'm fine" I make clear. He hesitates and I see him glance at Captain Rogers who was slightly to my right but still behind me; sitting at the table; before giving a nod. Director Fury turned back to what he was doing and I turned; about to walk back towards the infirmary/where Natasha was with Agent Barton when I stopped; seeing Captain Rogers staring at some cards on the table in front of him. I look around before slowly walking over; pulling out the seat on his left before quietly sitting down. He wasn't wearing the top half of his suit; instead it was a long sleeved blue shirt.

I looked down at the table and I felt a little part of my just crumble; seeing that they were Coulson's Captain America trading cards... Smeared in blood. Natasha had mentioned something about then when she was showing me around the carrier; saying Coulson was so excited to get Captain Rogers to sign them.

I swallowed before taking in a breath; looking at him.

"Did you know him?" I ask. He blinked once or twice before sitting up a bit and shaking his head.

"Not well, but from what I saw he was a good man" He says; looking into his lap before looking back up at the table. I leaned on my fist; on the table before glancing over at him again before looking down at the trading cards.

He looked pretty lost in thought at the moment.

"So are you gonna stick around?" He spoke up. I hesitate before looking at him. Damn, what do I say? I don't wanna just leave them in a time of need... But I'm not prepared to help them; I already screwed up with getting shot.

"Yeah, at least until we finish this" I tell him. Ok I know I have to see this through... At least for Coulson, if I do it for anyone it'll be him.

I finally push myself to my feet; out of the chair and I started to walk back towards the infirmary room to lay down for a bit.

~0~

About an hour later I was still laying on the bed in the infirmary room. I had sewed up my suit over the bandage to keep it on my leg and I could walk around normally now. Running was a little hard but I could bear with it. I was twiddling my thumbs when I heard footsteps going down the hall. I looked up a bit and saw Captain Rogers pass by; almost in a bit of a hurry. He was back in his full suit again.

I furrowed my eyebrows slightly before sitting up and walking to the door. I leaned out a bit to see what was up.

"Time to go" I heard him speak up. He was talking to Natasha I think.

"Go where?" Yep, it was Natasha. I strained to hear as I was leaning against the frame.

"I tell you on the way; can you fly one of those jets?" He asked. I heard what sounded like a door opening.

"I can" I furrowed my eyebrows. Was that Clint? There was some hesitation and I think the Captain was a bit hesitant.

"You gotta suit?" Captain Rogers finally asked. I think I heard a "yeah" or something before Captain Rogers responded.

"Then suit up" He said before walking out of the doorway and towards where I was. I stepped out into the hall.

"Where are we going" I ask; feeling a sudden feeling of thrill about getting to kick Loki's ass. Captain Rogers looked at me for a moment; looking a bit concerned almost.

"Are you-?"

"Yeah I'm good Captain, you need all the help you can get, and you're not changing my mind about this-" I tell him. He swallows before glancing down the hall and back at me. I feel myself smirk as I looked up at him. "I want in."

 **Please, please, please review if you liked it or have any suggestions :) I know I made it clear that I love hearing what my readers have to say XD Please check out the next chapter coming as soon as I can get it up… which is hopefully soon XD Have a nice week!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 **Hey all you people! :) Sorry I didn't update sooner, but school's finally over! Yay! Ok, I'll make this short, so I really hope you like this chapter and review! :D**

I grabbed my pistol and throwing knives before jumping into a speedy walk; almost a jog. I looked around the corner and saw Natasha and Clint Barton walk out of a room. It was the first time I had seen Clint in his suit; his quiver in his back. Natasha was still in her suit as they both walked down the hall towards me.

"Hey, so you're Nichole right?" Clint spoke up. I nod and meet him at the middle of the hall. I shook his hand.

"And you're Clint" I reply. He gave a nod before we all started to walk down the hall.

"So where is Loki now?" I ask. Natasha glanced at me as we walked down the hall. She was in the middle and I was on her right and Clint was on her left.

"Rogers didn't say" As she responded Captain Rogers walked up on my right as he came out of a different hallway and joined us.

"He's at Stark Tower" He replied. I furrowed my eyebrows as we were walking.

"What's he doing there-"

"He's going to open a portal or something so his army can get through" He replies. Wow, I am so not ready for this. I just nod before we walked out into a hanger or the Carrier and we started down the walkway. I was now between Clint and Natasha and Captain Rogers was in front of me as we walked down the aisle and up to one of the jets; going up the ramp. An agent was inside and looked up as we enter.

"Uh-, you guys aren't authorized to be in he-"

"Son," The Captain started. "Just don't" He made clear. The Agent swallowed; eyeing all of us before just giving a small nod and Natasha grabbed his arm and somewhat forcibly directed him off the jet. Natasha and Clint then quickly got into the pilots seats and brought the engine to life.

I put a hand through my hair in an anxious manner before looking around. Well... Here goes nothin

~0~

It didn't take too long to finally get to New York City. I don't know exactly where we were but at least we made it this far; with no sign of an alien army-

We took off down the city streets in the jet and as we all slowly looked up through the cockpit window, saw a giant portal open and tons of alien soldiers pouring out and then coming down into the city.

"Stark were in your three headed north east" Natasha spoke into the com.

 _"What did you stop for drive through?!"_ He asked. I swallowed before walking forward a bit and up to the cockpit area; looking out. _"Swing up park, I'm gonna lay em out for you"_ He responded and then the line went dark. We turned down a different street and my eyes went wide when I looked up through the cockpit and saw the transportation they were using for the aliens. It was extremely high tech looking and the projectiles they were firing pretty much destroyed everything it was fired at.

I looked straight ahead as we came down Park and then I saw Iron Man whiz by with several of what Thor called; the Chitauri aliens flying after him. Natasha open fired and managed to kill a few of them before we took higher to the air; flying around and up Stark Tower; shooting several Chitauri ships as we went. We climbed higher and higher in to the air and finally came up to the top.

"Nat" Clint spoke up. We all looked over as he spoke up.

"See em" She replied; getting the guns reloaded again as Clint steered the ship around and I saw Thor fighting Loki. It was only seconds later that Thor was knocked to the ground and Loki stood up and pointed his scepter at us. I didn't even have time to react as he fired in our direction and the jet jolted; making me stumble a bit before I caught myself; seeing Captain Rogers grip the back of Clint's seat as we started to fall out of the sky. Clint directed the quinjet down and we started to pick up speed as we were about to crash. I looked around before looking at Captain Rogers, seeing his eyes trail up to the bars on the ceiling. At about the same time we both jumped up slightly and I managed to grab the bar and hold onto it as we veered around Stark Tower and made a hard turn; causing us to turn to the side and Captain Rogers lost his grip on one arm as he was hanging on with one.

I felt my grip start to loosen and I saw the ground get closer and closer before we finally stuck the ground. I immediately lost my grip and was thrown towards the front; my back hitting the back of Natasha's seat. We were skidding across the ground as finally stopped.

I shook my head around to get myself together before I pushed myself to my feet. We all got ready and Clint put the ramp down; letting us all run off. I looked up and could see Stark Tower in the distance as we ran around the corner.

"We gotta get back up there!" Captain Rogers yelled back to us. We ran down the street and I looked up and we all slowed down. At around the same time we looked up and saw the portal... But it was what was coming out of it that got to us. There was a roar and a giant creature flew out of the portal. It was at least as long as a football field and was covered in armored plates. It came down the side of the tower and right over us. Things started to shoot out of the sides and I realized they were Chitauri warriors. They were launched on each side of the creature at the surrounding buildings; some going through windows and terrorizing civilians.

"Stark are you seeing this?" Captain spoke up. There was some hesitation before I heard his voice over the com link.

 _"Seeing still- working on believing"_ He replied. _"Where's Banner, has he shown on up yet?"_

"Banner?" Captain Rogers spoke up in confusion. We all furrowed our eyebrows.

 _"Just keep me posted"_ He replied before the connection went dark again. Captain Rogers turned around to face the three of us.

"Alright, let's worry about containing this area first" He says. We all gave a nod before going into action. I pulled the pistol off my thigh and my eyes locked on two Chitauri warriors coming towards me. I lifted the gun before firing three shots; one hitting it in the head and the other hitting the second in the neck while the third bullet only skimmed the armor of one of them. They both fell to the ground before I went deeper into the battle.

~0~

It had only been minutes since our last word with Iron Man and I was already feeling the wear on my leg. Although it was feeling much better; the pain tolerant training that I received over several years wasn't helping at the moment.

I turned and threw another knife at the approaching Chitauri and felt one grab my ankle; pulling my feet out from under me; causing me to fall flat on my back. Before I could get up one stood up and pointed a gun at me. I quickly picked up a knife that was beside me before throwing it up; hitting it in the neck before I tucked my legs in and kicked out; knocking the warrior to the ground.

Taking a deep breath I pushed myself up and then looked around before seeing Clint, Captain Rogers, and Natasha over by two taxis. I ran over to them and took cover behind the same Taxi as Clint. We were all breathing heavy before Clint spoke up.

"We got civilians trapped down there" He says. We all look up when a roaring of power came through and several ships flew over us; I felt a glare spread across my face when I saw Loki on one.

He flew over us and down towards the civilians; shooting at them.

"Loki" I heard someone state as the streets started to explode into fiery infernos; the people trying to escape it. "They're like a fish in a barrel down there," Captain Rogers said before looking at us. Suddenly several shots were fired towards us and Natasha shot several rounds back at the Chitauri.

"We got this" Natasha said; knowing he was eager to get down and help. "It's good go" She added. He looked over at her before looking at me and then Clint.

"You think you can hold them off?" He asked. I could just barely see the grin that crept onto Clint's face.

"Captain" I saw several arrows shift in his quiver and he gripped his bow tighter. "It would be my genuine pleasure" he replied before standing up and pulling an arrow from his quiver; shooting at several Chitauri. Natasha and I stood up and started to shoot at the Warriors before Captain Rogers jumped off the bridge and down below to help the civilians.

I quickly pulled a throwing knife off my thigh and threw it at one of the Chitauri before quickly turning to the one that was behind me; quickly kicking its legs out from under it and then shooting it several times in the head.

"Nichole" I heard someone call my name and I turned; seeing Clint walking up to a bus after he called my name. I broke into a run; getting over to where he was before I started to help. I opened a window and saw several people. One started to hand me a child and I took the young girl in my arms before placing her on the ground. She started to cry when she looked around and the explosions next to us rained ash down near us.

"Shhh, its ok honey" I knelt down beside her before putting my arms on her shoulders. "I'm gonna get your family out ok?" I smiled. The young girl; around 9 or so nodded before hugging my leg.

"The doors blocked" A woman spoke up. I looked up at her before nodding. After helping several children out I ran around to the other side of the bus and saw the door with a piece of debris in front of it.

"Barton" I call. He ran around seconds later and saw what I was looking at. Without hesitation he came over and helped me to push the piece of cement out of the way and open the doors; letting the people come out.

Quickly reloading my gun I ran after Clint as we came up beside Natasha.

"Just like Budapest all over again!" She yelled over the gunfire. I furrowed my eyebrows but stayed focused as I ducked when a Chitauri fired at me and then stood back up; shooting several others.

"You and I remember Budapest very differently!" Clint responded as he was firing several arrows.

"What the hell are you two talking about!?" I yelled at both of them. Clint smirked; glancing at me before he stepped to the side as a piece of flying debris almost hit him.

"Mission from a while back" Natasha responded before we headed back off into the fight.

~0~

We had been fighting the Chitauri off for a good half hour when another squad of them landed in front of us. The one closest ran up and Hawkeye quickly knocked it off its feet with his bow before grabbing an arrow and stabbing it in the chest. Natasha jumped off a car and landed on the shoulder of one Chitauri; electrocuting it's neck with her electrostatic brackets to stun it. I ran and jumped; pushing off a car trunk with my foot before kicking the Chitauri in the chest; knocking it to the ground before rolling and bringing my throwing knife down into its chest. Natasha picked up one of the Chitauri guns and started to fire at the assailants.

I heard a grunt to my right as a Chitauri ramped into Clint; knocking him to the ground. I quickly threw a knife at it to distract it. It pushed off in pain before Clint finished it off with an arrow. I exchanged places with Natasha; finishing off the Chitauri she shot at before pushing off another car and wrapping my legs around its neck and flipping; snapping its neck on the way down to the ground. I felt my leg sting a bit from the gunshot wound but I did my best to ignore it before I threw a knife at another warrior. BlackWidow used the Chitauri gun to shoot at the one behind me. I caught a glance as Hawkeye slid across the ground and shot an arrow at one of the warriors.

There was something to my left and I quickly turned; about to act when I backed down as Captain America jumped off a car and ramped two Chitauri before hitting one with his shield in front of Natasha, Clint, and I. There was some hesitation before I looked around and realized that it was clear for now.

I quickly knelt down on the ground before putting pressure on my wound; gritting my teeth a bit.

"Need help Nichole?" Natasha asked. I looked up at her before shaking my head.

"How's your leg doing?" Captain Rogers asked; I could practically here the concern in his voice but I chose to ignore it.

"Don't worry, its fine" I sum up before Natasha helped me to my feet.

There was a sudden flash of light and I looked to the right seeing lightning had stuck several warriors a good 40 feet away before Thor came down from the sky; landing by a car and stumbling a bit at first before he stood up straight.

We all made our way over to him and Captain was the first to speak up.

"What's he story upstairs?" He asked.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable." Thor announced.

 _"Thor's right, we gotta deal with these guys"_ Iron Man's voice came I've the com link.

"So what are we supposed to do?" I spoke up.

"Yeah," Natasha spoke up. "How'd we do this?" She asked beside me; exchanging a glance with me that was screaming 'what the hell are we supposed to do' too.

"As a team" Captain Rogers didn't look at either of us as he responded; looking up at the portal.

"I have unfinished business with Loki" Thor made sure to put in.

"Yeah, well get in line-" Clint mumbled.

"Save it" Th Captain cut the conversation off slightly as I could tell he was eager to get back on topic. "Now Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need; without him these things could run wild" He stated. "Now we got Stark up top, he's gonna need us to-" Captain Rogers was pointing up as he was about to speak when we all looked behind him as an engine came into hearing and a motorcycle came towards us; Banner riding it. I gave myself a small nod. Just like Mr. Stark said earlier.

He stopped the bike and got off before we all walked over.

"So" Dr. Banner started. "This all seems- horrible" He stated. I could practically feel Natasha's cautious expression before she replied.

"I've seen worse" She retorted. He hesitated before relying.

"Sorry" He apologized. At least he said that.

"No-" Natasha spoke up quickly. "We could use, a little worse" I could almost hear the humor in her voice.

"Stark, we got em" The Captain said.

 _"Banner?"_ I heard Iron Man over the com link.

"Just like you said" He replied.

 _"Then tell him to suit up, I'm bringing the party to you"_ He said. I slowly furrowed my eyebrows before slowly turning to see Iron Man flying around the corner... Seconds' later one of the giant flying creatures exploded out of the side of the building chasing after him.

"I-I don't see how that's a party" Natasha spoke up. I heard Thor's challenging growl as he spun his hammer in his hand.

"You got that right" I mumble in agreement before spinning a knife in my hand; gripping a gun in the other.

They got lower and lower towards the street before Iron Man shot by and the giant whale-like creature came in contact with the street; heading right for us. Dr. Banner was in front of us before he looked at all of us and walked towards it.

"Dr. Banner" Captain Rogers spoke up; taking a step forward. "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry" He said. Banner turned slightly with a smirk.

"That's my secret Cap'n." He spoke before he stopped and turned to us slightly. "I'm always angry" He replied before I started to see him grow and change color to green. He turned back to the giant creature and I resized how close it was now.

Without hesitation the Hulk punched the creature's head into the ground; slowing it down til its body came up into the air above us... And about to crush us too.

 _"Hang on"_ I heard Iron Man over the com again and I looked up as a missile was fired and hit the flesh of the creature. We all turned and I covered my head as I heard the explosion but didn't feel any ash raining down. I turned slightly and saw that Captain Rogers was holding his shield slightly over my head. I gave him a grateful smile and nod before he returned the nod and smile and we all stood up as the remains of the creature crashed to the ground.

Several hundred Chitauri on the surrounding buildings stopped and yet out angry war cries at us before we all backed into a circle. I heard the raging roar of Hulk behind me before I really took a moment to glance around; seeing Clint nock another arrow into his bow, Iron Man land to the left of Captain Rogers, Thor readjust the hold on his hammer, Natasha reloading her pistol on my right, and Captain Rogers adjusting his shield on his arm who was to my left.

It was then that I really noticed why Coulson called me in... And why Fury went through all that trouble to try and get as much info about me as possible... This whole time that I thought I was just here to help; Coulson knew me well enough to know I wouldn't just walk away.

I was on the Avengers Initiative…

I was an Avenger.

 **Boom. Did you like it? I know since it goes by the movie it's not much of a surprise but don't worry! You might be surprised what happens next! *evil grin* Haha! Anyway, please review if you liked it :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 **hey everyone! Sorry I didn't update this sooner, I was really busy! XD Ok! So the chapter after this will probably be up soon as well! :) Enjoy!**

"Alright, until we can close that portal our priority is containment." Captain Rogers said and then turned to all of us and started throwing out orders. "Barton, I want you on that roof eyes on everything; call out patterns and stray." He said.

Clint gave him a nod.

"Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than 3 blocks out you turn it back or turn it to ash" He ordered.

"Wanna give me a lift?" I heard Clint ask.

"Right, better clench up Legolas" Iron Man replied. I smirked before hearing them take off into the air.

"Thor you gotta try and bottle net that portal" Captain Rogers had turned to the God. "Slow em down. You got the lightning; light the bastards up." He said; looking back to him. Thor gave a nod and took off into the air. Now it was just Me, Natasha, The Captain, and Hulk.

"The three of us will stay on the ground; keep the fighting here" He looked to us. I gave a nod along with Natasha. "And Hulk" He turned. Hulk like out a roar and turned to him. Captain Rogers hesitated before pointing up at him. "Smash" Was all he said. The Hulk grinned before leaping into the air and towards a building.

"Sure you're ok Woods?" Natasha turned to me again. I gave her an immediate nod.

"Yeah I'm good Nat" I tell her with a grin. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." She grinned back before Captain Rogers turned to throw his shield at a Chitauri.

We took that as a cue to get moving before we all broke into fight again.

~0~

My leg hurt. That's all I could really think about throughout the fight.

I threw my knife at one of the Chitauri before I quickly ran at it; rapping my legs around its neck before flipping and snapping the neck of the warrior. I picked up my knife again before throwing it at another Chitauri.

Natasha was to my right; using one of the Chitauir guns to shoot at the surrounding aliens.

I dodged a punch from one before I turned to kick at the other one behind me.

I managed to get hit across the face though when I turned back around. Before I hit the ground I was pushed into a car when Natasha shot at the Chitauri.

That gave me a few seconds to get back on my feet and I quickly shot at the second Chitauri warrior to my right. I saw Natasha turn to shoot when she stopped. I turned around to see Captain Rogers walk up to her.

"Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal" She mumbled to fine; using the Chitauri gun to lean on for support.

"Our biggest gun couldn't touch it" He says back. I walked up to them in time to here Natasha reply.

"Well-," She started; looking to me. "Maybe it's not about guns" She said. I rose an eyebrow at her and we both ended up grinning when Captain Rogers finally caught on.

"If you wanna get up there you're gonna need a ride" He told her. She tossed me to the gun and I caught it.

"I gotta ride" She said before walking to the other end of the bridge. "I could use a boost though" She added. I took a few steps out of the way and the Captain started to take a few steps back; holding his shield out in front of him.

"You sure about this?" I could here the concern in his voice.

"Yeah" Natasha breathed. "It's gonna be fun" It seemed as if she was telling herself that before she broke into a run and towards him. Jumping off the car trunk and then off Cap's shield he pushed her up and she managed to grab onto one of the Chitauri ships.

I smiled as I watched her 'fly' out of sight when an explosion went off to my left. Blocking the debris with my arms and hands; I had to drop the Chitauri gun before I pulled a knife from the holster on my thigh.

My leg was getting worse; it'll probably get infected from all this dirt, ash, and debris flying around.

Ok, suck it up Nik. Gotta win this fight before you start worrying about your leg.

I quickly turned and threw the knife at the closed Chitauri before running towards it.

I ducked when I heard Iron Man fire a blast and his the warrior behind me.

Captain Rogers punched one Chitauri before jumping over to another and kicking it.

"Nik duck!" I heard Captain Rogers before I rolled to the ground when one of Iron Man's blasts reflected off his shield and took out several warriors.

I quickly got to my feet again once he took off up the side of the building.

I pulled the gun from my thigh again and shot down two Chitauri before turning seeing Captain Rogers pinned on the ground and about to be stabbed by one of the Chitauri guns.

I quickly lifted my gun to shoot when I pulled the trigger and heard that familiar click as the magazine was empty.

I threw the gun aside and quickly pulled the knife when my holster and through it at the Chitauri; hitting it in the back of the neck. That gave him enough time to push the gun aside and knock the warrior out.

"You ok?" I managed to ask before walking over and removing my knife from the dead body.

"Yeah, thanks" He replied.

"Cap'n, Woods, there's a bank on 42th, past Madison. They cornered a lot of civilians in there" Clint spoke through the com link.

"We're on it" Captain Rogers says before turning to me.

I gave a nod before following him down the street.

~0~

We made it to the building before I looked up; seeing some of the windows broken.

Damn it. Looks like the only way in is the window and I can barley walk as it is.

"Watch the front entrance and see if there's another way out" He said after a few seconds.

"I'm not that helpless" I state; seeing that he didn't want to push my luck with my leg and all. He didn't respond before running towards the building. I huff before walking towards the front entrances; seeing several Chitauri.

I took a small smoke grenade off my belt before tossing it towards them. Several raised their guns at the sight of the sudden smoke before I ran towards them. Throwing two knives I managed to kill one with a hit to the neck and the other knife only skimmed the armor of the second Chitauri.

I ran at it before dropping to the ground and kicked it's legs out from under it. Jumping back to my feet I turned in time to grab one by the mask and pull it off its face.

I furrowed my eyebrows at the sight. They were extremely weird looking for one.

I quickly pulled myself from my thoughts and used a knife to stab it.

I turned around; breathing heavy when I realized there weren't any left. I let my guard slip away for a moment before I bit my lip; looking down at my leg; seeing that the stitching was gone from the suit and the gun wound. I knelt down and tried to use the back of my hand with the gloves still on to wipe some of the dirt out but the only made it sting like hell; causing me to bit my lip harder and squeeze my eyes shut for a brief moment.

Opening my eyes again I finally took a deep breath and stood back up when there was a sudden explosion and I turned in time to see Captain Rogers being thrown from a window before he fell as smashed into the top of a car.

Seconds later police cars and firemen were at the doors on my left before I was running over to where Captain Rogers was; seeing him slowly pushing himself up 'til he managed to slide off the car hood.

"Are you ok?" I was still breathing heavy when he nodded.

"Yeah" He breathed before looking around. I noticed that his helmet was gone and he was covered in ash and dirt from the explosion and blood was starting to seep through a few cuts on his arms from the fall.

I was seeing something a bit different in him at the moment. I couldn't tell if it was just me... Or if he really was thinking about how we may not be strong enough to win this fight.

~0~

I'm starting to think the same right now; but I know I can't afford to think about how this could end.

My guns were gone; all I had were a few knives with tips that were worn.

Thor had joined us on the ground since we needed a bit of backup and even for a God and a Super Soldier I could see them growing a bit tired.

I threw a knife at one of the Chitauri before ducking as one shot at me. There was a group coming towards us and I didn't have good cover; unlike the Captain who had his shield and Thor- well he's pretty indestructible.

I got the knife back before throwing another at a Chitauri that had advanced on me more before I got pushed into a car. I dropped my knife and quickly grabbed the taser from my belt before jabbing it in the neck; making it fall to the ground. I never thought I would actually have to use it.

I saw both Thor and Captain Rogers catch their Hammer/Shield before engaging into the fight again.

I pulled the knife from the dead Chitauri body before I turned and saw the Captain go down with a shot to the side. I kicked out at a Chitauri before turning back; seeing that he wasn't getting up. I quickly ran over to him before kneeling down.

"Steve-" I started; trying to get him to at least try and get to his feet before he started to push himself up a bit.

Thor quickly got in front of us and rammed the car with his hammer; causing the car to flip over several times and wipe out the wave of Chitauri warriors.

I helped Captain Rogers to his feet and got a look at the wound in his side. It actually wasn't as bad as I originally thought but it was still going to need stitches and a good cleaning.

"Ready for another round?" Thor asks as he turned to us.

"What, you getting sleepy?" I could here the humor in his voice and I had to grin. Thor turned to me and I had to respond.

"Hell yeah" I say reassuringly before spinning a knife in my hand. Thor laughed before turning and walking towards where there were more Chitauri. I turned to follow.

"Nichole?" I stopped and turned to Captain Rogers. "Thank you" He said. I hesitate before giving a small smile.

"You're welcome" I respond before met back up with Thor.

"I can close it" I heard through the com link. "Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down" It was Natasha! Oh thank god!

"Do it!" Both Captain Rogers and I both yelled.

"No wait!" Tony? Why the hell wait?

"Stark these things are still comin!" Captain Rogers yelled into the com.

"I gotta nuke coming in; it's gonna blow in less than a minute" He replied. We all exchanged a glance and I let out a breath. Oh no. "And I know just where to put it" Yep; that's what I was afraid of.

Captain Rogers was still breathing a bit heavy from being hit but ended up responding.

"Stark... You know that's a one way trip-"

"Save the rest for the turn J" Tony ignored the Captain's reply. I felt suddenly felt helpless; knowing what was about to happen.

I looked at the ground before wiping the back of my hand across my forehead. I didn't think it would end like this. He better get out of this alive.

I heard something in the distance and the three of us looked up; I was standing in between them.

I squinted at the light and saw Iron Man holding the nuke and flying straight towards the tower. Within seconds he activated more thrusters and skyrocketed up towards the portal before disappearing.

I couldn't move my eyes away from the portal; waiting for something to happen.

It felt like minutes went by before a bright light could be seen in the portal... The nuke had gone off.

I saw the Captain look down out of the corner of my eyes before he exchanged a glance with the two of us before looking back up.

"Close it" He finally said. There was only seconds of silence before I saw the bridge shoot up into the portal and it started to close.

I couldn't take my eyes off the portal but Thor and Captain Rogers looked down.

It got smaller and smaller until it closed. I let out a breath and then it caught when I saw something falling.

"Guys-" I started. They immediately looked up and I saw Captain Rogers smile.

"Son of a gun" He breathed and I had to smile at that saying. But once I looked over at Thor he didn't look happy.

"He's not slowing down" He spoke up and got ready to fly.

I saw him falling closer and closer to the ground when suddenly the Hulk flew by and grabbed Iron Man; sliding down the side of the building before he struck the landing on the bridge.

Thor and Captain Rogers broke into a run towards where they were and I limped over. The pain was really getting to me now; putting too much weight on it was a hassle.

Captain Rogers dropped his shield by a car before running over to where Tony and the Hulk were. Thor kneeled down and pulled the mask off Tony's helmet before Captain Rogers knelt down; probably trying to here for the arch reactor. I finally got over and stood next to Captain Rogers. I looked down at Tony and the arch reactor that was not shining brightly like it should.

It grew quiet and we all exchanged glances. I let out a breath; looking down at Tony again when the Hulk was roaring with anger.

Suddenly Tony let out a yell and woke up. My eyes widened and Captain Rogers' head shot up as he looked at Tony.

"What the hell?!" He breathed. I had to smile at the first thing that came out of his mouth. "What just happened?! Please tell me nobody kissed me" He added. I chuckled and the Captain ended up exchanging a smirk with me before he turned back to Tony.

"We won" He said after a few seconds.

That's when it really hit me. We won. We really won.

"Alright hey" Tony replied after a few seconds of hesitation. "Alright, good job guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow- lets just- take a day" He struggled for a moment; adjusting himself slightly. I smirked again. "Hey you guys ever had Shawarma? There's a Shawarma joint about 2 blocks from here; I dunno what it is but I wanna try it" He continued. There's the Tony we know- or; at least from what I know from knowing him for two days.

"We're not finished yet" Thor told us. Captain Rogers turned to look up at him and I did also.

"And then Shawarma after" Tony made sure to add.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 **Hey everyone! :D next chapter is up! I know that the first part of this story was going along with the movie so it wasn't as cool or entertaining, sorry bout that! But now we'll be getting more so into the story so I hope you all enjoy and review if you liked! :)**

So we saved the world. Never thought I would be saying that after everything I've experienced and been through.

I walked up along with everyone as we were about to say bye to Thor who was taking Loki back to Asgard.

I had talked to Fury a hour or so ago. I was indeed on the Avengers Initiative. Why no one told me I guess I'll never know but something tells me Coulson had something to do with it.

Dr. Selvig handed the Tesseract off to Thor and I caught the deadly glare Captain Rogers was giving it as Thor took it.

After Thor walked with Loki towards this open area across the street he held out the other side of the Tesseract containment unit to Loki. He hesitated before taking it in his hand.

Natasha and Clint were to my left and Captain Rogers was to my right as we were all somewhat in a circle around Thor and Loki. It was only seconds later that a circle started to form around them on the ground and we backed up as the shot up into the sky; disappearing.

I turned to Natasha and Clint; seeing Captain Rogers walk over to Tony.

"Do us a favor and think about giving SHIELD a try?" Clint smirked. I shrug with a smirk.

"Maybe" Was all I said before shaking his hand. Natasha gave me a small side hug.

"So what are you gonna do now?" I asked them after we pulled out of the hug.

"We're being sent out on a mission in a few hours actually" Natasha said. I gave a nod.

"Good luck" I smirk. Natasha and Clint both gave me a smile before heading towards the SHIELD car.

"Nice workin with ya Woods" Tony shook my hand as he walked by. I gave a smile and a nod. As Bruce followed him we exchanged a nod when they walked over to a car.

I turned to walk away when I saw someone walking over to me out of the corner of my eye. I stopped and turned to see Captain Rogers walking over.

"So," He trailed off. I gave a small smile. "Guess I'll see you around?" He said slowly and smirked. I hesitate before giving a small shrug with a smile.

"Yeah, we'll see" I reply. He gave a nod before holding out a hand. I shook it before we exchanged a smile for a few seconds before I let go. After a few more seconds we went our separate ways. I let out a breath as I started to walk away. I haven't felt this way since that time...

I started to walk down the side of the street; thinking over the last few days. I heard the sound of Captain Rogers motorcycle slowly start to die out until it was quiet and I was walking down the street alone; all the other Avengers had left.

I crossed my arms; holding my brown leather jacket over my arms as I was looking at the ground.

I sighed before getting lost in thought. This is so much to take in. I know it's easier to just leave it as it is; but I can't stop thinking about what I just experienced and helped stop.

Suddenly an engine was blaring next to me and a motorcycle came to a halt beside me. I jumped in surprise and turned to see Captain Rogers again as I kept walking.

He was going about as fast as I was walking now.

"Hey" Was all I heard over the rumbling of the engine. "Would you uh, wanna ride?" He asked. I could here the nervousness in his voice and I tried to hide my smile.

"You only have one seat on your bike" I reply with a smirk.

"Well I'll just scoot up a bit then" I could see him shrug slightly. "You should probably give your leg a break too don't you think?"

I kept looking forward before looking over briefly; stopping. He stopped his bike and turned it off before I swallowed and looked over at him. He had a serious face before he cracked a smile.

I couldn't help but give small smile before I nodded with a roll of my eyes. I walked over and sat down behind him after he scooted forward a big. He brought the engine to life and I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"Can I Uh..." I start; putting my arms out against my sides a bit since I had nothing to hold onto. He glanced back slightly.

"Oh uh, yeah that's fine" He replied. I could here the hesitation in his voice and he was probably thinking I was uncomfortable with it.

I carefully wrap my arms around his midsection before he let go of the brake and we started down the road.

~0~

A few minutes later he pulled up in front of my apartment building. I took my hands away before climbing off his bike.

"Thank you" I turned back to him. He nodded with a smile.

"Yeah yeah, anytime" He replied. I gave a small smile again before glancing at my door.

"See you around I guess" I say; backing up a bit. He gave a nod before I smiled and turned. A few seconds went by before I heard him drive off.

A few minutes later I walked down the hall until I came to my room number; 243. Lifting my hand to turn the knob I hesitated before finally reaching out and turning the knob only to find that it was locked. My eyes went wide and I realized that I left my key on the Helicarrier.

"Damn it" I mutter before looking around to make sure no one was coming down the hallway. I quickly lifted my foot before kicking the door down. It crashed to the ground and I cursed under my breath from the pain in my other leg before quickly walking inside and throwing my jacket on the couch before turning back to the door. I picked it up and pushed it against the frame before leaning against it and letting myself slid down til I was sitting on the floor of my apartment. I swallowed before looking around.

This feels almost wrong. Nothing feels the same now. Just a few days ago we found out that the universe is much bigger than we realize. I can't help but think about what else is out there. It just makes you feel... Powerless. Like what you do overall won't matter; everything just got a whole lot bigger.

I put a hand through my hair before pushing myself to my feet. I picked my lucky pack up and threw it on the counter before walking over to the fridge to get a coke. I used the beer bottle opener to get the top off before taking a sip; leaning against the counter. Suddenly there was a knock at my door. I furrowed my eyebrows before walking over when there was another knock and the door fell down.

"Lara?" I questioned; seeing my friend now looking very confused at the door. "What er you doing here?" I asked. She smiled before walking in.

"One; you're on the news with the Avengers. Two; my apartment blew up. And three; I so ship you and Captain America" She sighed before walking over to the couch; her accent made me almost smile just a bit.

I furrowed my eyebrows before walking over to my door; putting it back up before walking over.

"You're apartment blew up?!" I couldn't get that through my head. She nodded; turning on the TV.

"Yeah, during the huge battle... And my laptop is gone" She pouted. "But when walking down the street I saw the Captain drop you off." She got happy again. I blinked a few times before walking over to the counter again; taking a few deep breaths. There was a sigh before Lara spoke up. "Sorry Nik I didn't think-"

"It's fine Lara, I know you didn't mean to do that" I mumble. The topic of me and men put me on edge because of what happened. I don't like to think about it but I did have nightmares about it sometimes. "You can have the spare bedroom" I tell her with a smile.

"Thanks Nik" She smirks. I gave a nod; sipping my coke again.

"So what happened" She asked in a serious tone. I hesitate before looking over at her.

"Well..." I swallow. "The planet was almost taken over by aliens" I state. "And I somehow am an Avenger" I add with a slow; awkward nod. She smiled a bit.

"Do you know who they were?" She asked.

"Sorry it's kinda classified but for now they're gone, that's the good part" I tell her. She put her hands up in a surrendering fashion.

"Alright, no more questions" She replied. I laughed before sipping my coke again. "So are you and Captain America a thing now?" She asked after a minute. I slowly looked over at her. "It's not exactly a question; I'm just demanding an answer." She replies.

"Lara-" I started in a warning tone.

"Come on! He's perfect!" She laughed. I narrowed my eyes at her in a playful manner.

"He's ok" I say simply. She raised an eyebrow.

"Ok? He's cute is what he is" She says; leaning on her fist with a far off look. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah he's sweet but I'm not looking for a relationship with anyone right now" I tell her. "He's just a friend" I add. She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Yeah, we'll see about that in a couple months" She mumbled. I rolled my eyes before taking another sip of my coke.

~0~

I sat up like a bolt of lightning from my bed as my eyes darted around. It was dark and lightning was actually shooting across the sky out side my window followed by thunder. I took a deep breath before putting a hand through my hair. It was around midnight I think; later that evening. Nightmares happened all the time... About what happened in the past; my past. But the one I just had was about the battle.

Instead of winning we lost; because of me. I couldn't live up to be the Avenger they had hoped and got them all killed.

I sat up a bit more before getting out of bed; walking towards the door of my room.

A few minutes later I was sitting on the couch wrapped in a blanket watching TV for the rest of the night.

~0~

The next day went by pretty quickly. I went on a walk throughout the city and saw all the destruction we had caused. I even found one oft throwing knives that I lost during the battle.

Lara went to work today and it gave me time to buy a new door. Unfortunately it didn't have a peep hole...

I was back in my apartment now; eating noodles with chopsticks while curled up in my armchair with the news on.

News about the Avengers was pretty much on every channel and it pissed me off. I was off the radar from everything. Everything. I'm technically wanted by the police and now I'm on national TV.

A few minutes later Lara walked in.

"Hello" She sounded tired.

"Hey Lara" I reply; eating a few more mouthfuls of noodles before getting up and walking over. "Work ok?" I ask. She shrugs.

"Really busy from the battle and everything" She says.

"Find any apartments in the ads?" I ask. She shakes her head.

"Prices skyrocketed for some reason, so it'll take a bit longer for me to find something" She frowned.

"Don't worry, you can have the spare room as long as you'd like" I tell her. "But you need to move out eventually" I make sure to add; receiving an eye roll.

"Alright I'm going to bed, goodnight" She yawned. I look up before replying.

"Night"


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 **Hey everyone! :) Hope you liked the last chapter; I know I'm putting these up fairly quickly but with my busy schedule I want to make sure I don't forget later on to update XD So please review if you liked it- hope you all do like it- :D Yeah, so enjoy!**

"I thought you said this was diet" Lara looked offended. I rolled my eyes before shrugging.

"Well I thought it was diet coke..." I grumbled; putting a hand through my hair before glancing out the window; hearing the sound of construction.

"How long do you think it'll take?" She asked after a few seconds. I let out a quiet breath; letting my eyes trail back to where she was on the couch before they went back out the window.

"I don't know" It had been about a week since the Battle of New York. I had been having a few nightmares regarding that day; not that I told anyone as you all know.

The week was pretty boring. Not much happened besides me wondering around aimlessly trying to entertain myself.

I looked back out the window and down at the streets; seeing construction crews and police officers.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. I furrowed my eyebrows before looking over. Lara sipped her coke -that was not diet- before glancing at the door.

"You gonna get that or shall I?" She asked. I waved a hand at her to say I got it before walking over. I grabbed my gun on the table next to the door before slowly opening the door. I froze when I saw Captain Rogers. He stood up a bit straighter as I opened the door all the way.

"Captain Rogers" Was the first thing that I was able to get out. Wait- why is he here? I'm so confused right now- but, I'm not upset or anything it's nice to see him again…

He gave me a small smile before Lara spoke up.

"Who is it?" She called. I swallowed quickly before looking over at her.

"Uh- n-no one, give me a sec" I call before walking out into the hall; closing the door behind me. He backed up as I did so.

"Uh, hey" I try to stay somewhat friendly; even though I have no clue why he would be here. I know we said we may see each other around, and I was hoping we would but I didn't know where we would go with that.

"Hey" He started; then furrowed his eyebrows, looking down seeing I was holding a gun. "You always carry a gun to the door?" He cracked a smile. I rolled me eyes.

"I don't have a peep hole in my door anymore so, yeah, I do carry my gun to answer the door" I reply; putting it in the back of my jeans before looking back up at him; clearing my throat. "So uh, is there something I can do for you?" I asked after a few seconds. His eyes trailed back up to me before he quickly nodded before clearing his throat.

"Well uh, I was on the block so I just wanted to drop by..." He says after a few seconds. "It's uh," He smirks after a couple seconds. "Definitely a bit different now that this is all over..." He says. "Quiet" I nod in reply.

"Yeah, I haven't really gotten used to it yet either." I agree. It was quiet for a few seconds before he responded.

"You busy at all?" He swallowed; putting his hands in his pockets. I blinked before glancing at the door. I did have to go with Lara to get her a new laptop and I had to run to the store to get food and other crap before tomorrow since I literally didn't have any food for dinner tonight.

I found myself shaking my head.

"No, not busy" I reply. Holy crap what did I just say!? He gave a small nod after a second and I could see he was a little nervous.

"You up for a cup of coffee?" He asked. I swallowed again before smiling and nodding. Wow he's actually kinda cute when he's nervous... -Oh Christ, what the hell Nichole, stop staring and act normal for a change.

"Uh, yeah, yeah" I say quickly; trying not to stutter over my words. I saw him relax a bit when I finally answered. "Sounds fun" I reply; putting a hand through my hair. "Just- let me put my gun back inside and assure my friend I'm not ditching her" He nodded; cracking a smile before I turned around and opened the door again before closing it to a crack behind me.

Oh my god. What the hell just happened?! I don't even remember my mind making up what to say it all just kinda spilled out. For being a deadly assassin, that was _not_ professional.

I saw Lara was still sitting on my couch with her coke before she looked over at me.

"Who was it?" She asked. I shrug.

"It uh, was no one. Look I gotta go and uh-... Do stuff" I mumble the last part; grabbing the keys to my room before slipping on my combat boots. "Shopping" Hope that excuse will cover it. She furrowed her eyebrows; following me with her eyes.

"Uh ok, come back soon" She called. I gave her a nod before closing the door again; seeing Captain Rogers still waiting.

"Alright" I sigh. "I'm ready now" I announce before he gave a small smile and a nod before we started to walk towards the elevator. Ok, this shouldn't be so bad. I mean it's just coffee…. With Captain freaking America….

~0~

Oh my god oh my god oh my god I'm so freaking out right now.

This is literally the first time I've done something with a guy that I'm not planning to kill afterwards-... Oh. My. god. That sounded terrible now that I think about it, I really need to get a life.

We walked into the little coffee shop before I looked around; taking in the sweet smell. He ordered us to cups before he came back and handed me one.

"Thank you" I smile; rapping my hands around my cup.

"You're welcome" He smiles back. "Did you want to sit? Or walk around...?" He adds. I took a small sip of my coffee before looking around.

"Wanna go walk in the park?" I asked.

"Sure" He smiled bigger. Something told me he was glad that I didn't want to sit in here. I smiled to myself as he held the door open for me and we walked out.

~0~

After a few minutes of walking in some very awkward silence we walked through the park entrance. My leg was acting up a little but I did my best to ignore it.

The sun was starting to set soon and the sky was a very pretty blue that was starting to change color.

"You ok?" He asked me after a few seconds. I looked up and smiled.

"Yeah" I reply.

"If this is too much I can't take you home, you don't have to do this-"

"No no; it's not you" I say quickly. "I just haven't done anything like this in a while" I tell him. I haven't gone anywhere with a guy since the late 1800's. Back when I used to know someone that I thought was a good man...

"Are you sure? I don't wanna make you uncomfortable or anything-"

"Steve it's fine" I laugh. "Ok? I'm having fun, I think what I needed was to get back in the real world" I smile. I could still see the concerned look on his face before he just nodded with a smile.

"Alright" He replied as we were walking. I felt my smile fall only slightly. I know he's being nice, but even for me this is a bit much. I like spending time with him; don't get me wrong but I was trained for decades not to get close to people.

~0~

About an hour later we were walking back up to my apartment. We talked for a good hour when walking. We mostly talked about our daily lives; nothing big. But I did find out a couple things about him. I managed to throw out what I thought was appropriate information; something that wouldn't give anything away. I know that sounds bad but try and see this from my perspective; being a master assassin with a screwed up past who was trained only to get close to a target before killing them.

We stopped in front of my door and I turned back to him.

"Thank you, I had fun" I smiled. He smiled back before replying.

"Want to do it again some time?" I hesitate my response. I think I know where this is going and I'm not looking for a relationship. But I don't really see him as coming on strong or moving fast.

"Yeah" I reply. "Yeah, yeah maybe next week?" I asked. He smiled.

"Sounds good"

I gave him a small wave before walking into my apartment.

Lara was asleep on the couch when I walked over. I turned the TV off before throwing a blanket over her. I then walked to my room to get ready for bed.

~0~

 _"You're worthless!" He yelled. He threw me to the ground and I shattered the glass table; feeling the shards piercing my skin and draw blood._

 _"Please stop" I cried. He yanked me up by the arm before punching my and threw me to the ground again. "Stop!" I pleaded; feeling my eye start to swell. "I'll make it right I promise!" I sobbed. He brought his foot down on my wrist and I heard a snap before crying out in pain. He yanked me up again before punching me in the head; knocking me out._

~0~

I shot out of bed with a cold sweat. My lungs hurt as I tried to breathe when nothing came in or out. I put a hand against my chest before pressing lightly until I got my breath back.

I wiped the tears from my eyes before looking around; taking a deep breath. Nightmares were a pretty common thing for me as you all know. I didn't enjoy having them but now it wasn't just about my past; it included the Battle of New York as well. I think you already know.

I took a deep breath before sitting up more and leaned against the back board of my bed. This'll be a long night.

~0~

"Morning" I heard Lara as she walked out of the spare room. She must have gone back into her room sometime in the middle of the night.

"Mm" I mumble; gripping a big cup of coffee in my hands as I tried to stay awake. I wasn't able to go back to sleep last night and now I felt like crap.

"Someone sounds grumpy" She said as she walked over to the door; grabbing her coat. I shrug only barely. "I'm going to work, you should go back to sleep" She smirked. I give a small nod before sipping my coffee again. I gave her a wave as she walked out the door; closing it behind her.

A few minutes later I managed to drink the last of my coffee before I plopped down on the couch and fell back asleep.

~0~

I let out a sleepy groan when I heard my phone ring. I lifted my head a bit; blinking my weary eyes before I slowly got out of bed.

Seconds later I made it into the kitchen and I picked up the phone.

"Hello?" I mumbled after yawning.

" _You sound like crap_ " Someone responded. My eyes flew open.

"Natasha?!" I yelled.

" _Hey Nichole_ " She replied. I could hear the amusement in her voice.

"What do I owe this surprise?" I laugh.

" _Just checking in, how's city life_?" She asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Good..." I reply; zoning out for a moment. Honestly it sucks and it's boring. "It's good, it's good" I add quickly to assure her. She was quiet for a moment.

" _So what you're saying is that you're bored and have nothing to do_ " She says. I bit my lip.

"Pretty much" I smirk. "So how'd the mission go?" I asked. Right after New York the Director had them sent out on a mission. Her and Clint that is.

" _It was alright, definitely glad to have some time off now. Fury gave us a week leave_ " She says.

"Sounds nice" I smirk; sitting back down on the couch.

" _If only you knew_ " She said back. I let out a breath and rolled my eyes. Something tells me they will always be out to get me to join SHIELD.

"You guys should give that a rest" I reply. "My leg is still being a bitch anyway" I say; glancing at me calf.

" _Sounds about right. Try stretching every morning and night- and of course before and after working out; always helps me_ "

"Roger that, I'll get right on it" I smirk; glancing out the window.

" _So what've you been up to lately_?" I swallow before blinking a couple times.

"Nothing really, my friend Lara had to move in with me. Her apartment exploded during the battle and I barely got any sleep last night so I feel like shit" I tell her; I was then quiet. "...but otherwise good" I smile.

" _Glad to hear it_ " She chuckles. " _Alright, I'll talk to you soon ok_?"

"Ok, bye Natasha" I smile.

" _Bye Nik_ "

After hanging out the phone and tossing it onto the arm chair I got back under the blanket on the couch before getting comfortable again.

Man... This is boring. I got nothing to do besides have Lara track me down a killer... And she's not even home yet so I technically have nothing to do...

I finally took in a deep breath before letting it out. My eyes then closed before I drifted off again.

 **There it is! Hope you all liked it, I know skipping a week might have seemed like a bit much but I know some of you might have been waiting for something to happen. :| Sorry bout that! So please review if you liked it or have requests!**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 **Next chapter for you all! :) Hope you like it!**

It had been a couple days since I got coffee with Steve. I gotta admit I could go for a cup right now with anyone but Lara. She's been looking at apartments all day and had over 4 bottles of coke. God help me.

"Nik look at this" She walks over and throws a newspaper down on the table in front of me. "Look at how outrageous the prices are!" She shouted. I shrunk back a bit at the volume of her voice.

"Pretty crazy" I say. God please help me.

"I know! And this is just the first page!" She shouts. I covered my face with my hands.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Oh god please be Steve, please be Steve.

"I got it!" I yelled at bit louder than I should have.

I opened the door and felt relief wash over me when I saw it was Steve.

"Bye Lara!" I yelled before closing the door behind me. He looked a bit confused.

"Hi" I start; breathing a bit heavy.

"Hey" He smiled slowly before glancing at my door. "I know we said next week an all, but I wasn't busy and-"

"No problem, I'd love to go" I smile before hearing Lara on the other side of the door.

"Nik? Wha-"

"Oh I see how it is" He laughs. I make a face before laughing.

"What-... No-"

"I'm your escape route?" He looked amused. I hesitate.

"Just this once yes" I smile. He rolled his eyes before looking down the hall.

"So coffee?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yep" I smile. He smiled back before we walked down the hall.

~0~

It had started to rain a bit so we decided to stay at the café.

I lifted the cup to my lips before looking up as Steve sat down.

"So why were you so eager to get away from your friend Lara?" He asked; obviously amused. I lowered my coffee and smiled.

"She's looking for apartments and by her reaction to the prices I don't think she'll be moving out anytime soon" I chuckle. He laughed a bit before looking out the window.

"So has life gotten any easier for you?" I asked. He looked back over at me before shrugging just slightly.

"Well," He leaned back in his chair before glancing out the window again. "It's been ok, I'll admit it hasn't been the easiest to get used to" He says. I nod after a couple seconds. My first reaction is to be nice and offer help... But according to my training I shouldn't be getting close to people and this is already pushing it. I bit my lip and hesitated. C'mon Nik, just say it.

"If you ever need any help, I'm usually free" I finally get out. He smiles before nodding.

"Thanks, if I ask too many questions don't be afraid to snap at me or anything" We both end up laughing before I take another sip of my coffee. It was quiet for a few seconds before he spoke up again. "So uh," He started and then hesitated. "Clint and Natasha wanted me to ask you about your plans with SHIELD" He says slowly in a quieter voice; looking down into his coffee. "They just left for a mission so they had me bring the message" I slowly lower my cup before putting it on the table. He looked up at me as I did and I hesitated my response.

"I-" I cut myself off to make sure I don't say the wrong thing. "It's complicated" I sigh. "I've had 100 years of training; every year taught me at least one good tip for being a master assassin..." I say quietly. He just nodded before I continued. I'm giving way too much information away but most of what I'm telling him is already on file at SHIELD. "Those include not making attachments, working on my own, and to not trust anyone you think you know" I end; gripping my cup a bit tighter. He was quiet and I could see he was still looking at me as I stared down into my cup.

"So do you think you can trust me?" He asked slowly. I looked up and could just barely see the smirk he was desperately trying to hide. I hesitated before chuckling and nodding.

"Yeah, I think I can trust do-gooder Captain America" I start laughing. He only rolled his eyes before drinking from his coffee cup.

"What about the team?" He asked. I stop laughing after a bit and bit my lip. Of course I do- but, it's not professional to say that. I know we saved the world but come on. If I tell anyone that it could put so many lives in danger.

I found my eyes darting around the coffee shop to who was sitting near us. I finally looked back over at him -who looked pretty amused at my caution I must add- before speaking up.

"Yeah, I trust them too" I say quietly. He smiles before nodding after a few seconds.

"And what about attachments?" He asked quieter. I open my mouth to reply and then stop and smile.

"Well-..."

"If this is too much we can stop-" He gestured down to his coffee. I started chuckling. "If worst comes to worst then we can say it you were undercover with your target or something-" I couldn't help but to start laughing.

"No-" I finally got my laughs under control. "No, no this is perfectly fine. I like spending time with you" I get out. I kept chuckling but I just had an explosion in my head.

I like spending time with you?! Oh my god I can't believe I just said that! I don't want to encourage him about this! The point is that I CAN'T make attachments!

"Really?" He asked; looking over at me. I make myself nod. I do. I really do like spending time with him. One half of me is all for it but the other is screaming for me to stop this.

The way I see it is, if I get too close to him he'll be in danger when around me and that's the last thing I want to happen.

"Yeah, this is fun" I smile. Something then popped into my head. "Would," I start; looking for the right words. "Is there anything you'd want help with regarding 21st century?" I asked in an amused tone. He hesitated before nodding and smiling.

"There are several actually"

"I'm free for the rest of the day if you're not busy" I took a sip of my coffee.

"Wait-... Seriously?" He asked; looking a bit confused. I suddenly felt a bit bad for him. Did he think I was joking before or something?

"Yeah seriously" I laugh a bit. He nodded.

"Alright, well-" He starts. "My phone is one thing," he pulled it out of this pocket. I couldn't help but chuckle. "Stark gave it to me, saying it was probably the easiest phone for me to start using" He shrugs. He handed it to me and I took it; looking it over. It was an iPhone 4.

"I have one like this too, so I can show you all the tricks" I smile; glancing up at him before looking back down at his phone. I pressed the home button to turn it on and couldn't help but laugh; seeing a picture of his shield was the screen saver.

"All Tony's doing" He put his hands up with a smirk.

I swiped it to the side and realized he didn't have a lock on it.

"Well first off you might wanna get some kind of password for your phone" I say.

"A password?" He question. I looked up and couldn't help but smile from the confused look on his face.

"So people can't break into your pho-" I stopped when the screen suddenly went dark and the Apple symbol came up. "Ah damn it" I mumble.

"What?" He leaned forward a bit to see.

"Your battery is dead, do you have a charger?" I asked; looking up at him.

"Back at my apartment but we don't have to go all the way there-"

"The rain stopped" I say; standing up. "Why not?" I asked with a smile. He hesitated before shaking his head; getting up.

"Alright" He smiled before we grabbed our coffee and walked out the door.

~0~

After walking back to his apartment he opened the door; letting me walk in. I looked around and couldn't help but smile.

"Old fashioned" I smiled; looking back at him as he closed the door. He shrugged.

"Fury set me up here for the time being while I get used to everything" He says. "Oh-" He walked past me and into the other room. I didn't bother to follow; looking around before my eyes trailed down to the desk by the window. I saw several SHIELD papers; showing the people I recognized as the Howling Commandos. All were labeled deceased. I felt a bit of guilt stab me in the gut. I did feel bad for him. I mean, everyone he cared about he found out they were dead within a few hours of waking up 70 years in the future.

I turned away from the desk and looked around the room. It was nice and simple- something I missed from many, many years ago. I do agree that the 21st century has a lot to catch up with. There are some things -I won't admit to people - that I don't understand still. Like why celebrities feel the need to wear barely any clothing when they perform- Miley Cyrus is a good example of this. No offense.

"Here" I turned to see Steve walk up to me before he handed over the phone charger.

"Thank you" I say as I took it with a smile before walking into the living room. I sat down on the end of the couch; reaching over the arm to plug it in before plugging the phone in.

"It might take 10 or so minutes for the phone to charge up a bit so in the meantime, are there anything other things on your list?" I chuckled. He raised an eyebrow.

"My list?"

"Yeah, I can only assume you have a list of things that you want to know about in this century" I laugh. He rolled his eyes.

"Well the Internet is a good one" He starts. I nod before looking around; seeing a laptop on the far table.

"That yours?" I asked as I got up; walking past him. He nodded.

"Yeah, I didn't even bother trying to figure out how to use it" He sums up. I smirk before picking it up and going back to my spot on the couch.

I opened the laptop and pressed the power button before it started to boot up.

My eyes trailed back over to him as he was standing in the doorway.

"You can sit down I don't bite" I smirk. He cracked a smile before walking over; sitting down next to me on my left.

"Ok, so this is your new computer so you'll have to set up the language, date and time, a password- all this weird crap that might take us an hour or two" I say; turning barely to look at him. "Is that ok?" He nodded.

"Yeah, yeah that's fine"

"Just let me know if I overstay my welcome" I smile; my eyes locked on the computer screen.

"It'd take a lot for it to come down to that" I heard him say. I cracked a smile before getting to work on the laptop.

~0~

After 3 hours of setting up his laptop I shut it down and turned to him.

"Ok" I smile. "Now that that is done we can work on your phone" I chuckle. He smiled before nodding.

"You don't have to do this you know" I say. I shrug.

"I'd like to so you can't stop me" I reply; making him laugh a bit. I unplugged it before handing it to him.

"Ok, turn it on and go to settings" I pointed. He did as told before tapping on the settings icon. "Now tap passcode" I add. He did before my eyes trailed up and down the screen. "Ok here's where you choose a passcode, I'd make it something hard to guess; something no one would expect you to use"

"Like a birthday?" He asked slowly. I nodded.

"Yeah, now I wouldn't do your birthday in this case since pretty much all of SHIELD knows about you and your backstory" I chuckle. "But something along those lines- it could be just a random number too if you want it to be" I add. He was quiet for a while; almost a minute. "Mine isn't random number but Lara and I told each other the passcode so if one of us forgets we can remind each other. I actually used the year she was born for my password" I smirk; glancing over at him.

"Would it be weird if I used the year you were born?" He asked. I looked over at him before shaking my head.

"No, not necessarily" I chuckle.

"Sorry, I just think I'll forget if it's some random number" He adds. I could just barely see him getting a bit red with embarrassment and I laughed a bit.

"It's perfectly fine" I laugh and smile. "I was born 1872" I add. He nods before putting the number in. "There, now your phone is protected" I chuckle. He laughs a bit before nodding.

"Is there anything else?" I asked. He was quiet before shaking his head.

"Not today at least, but if you're free on Thursday I want to figure out my TV" He was hesitant to say that. I chuckle before nodding.

"Yeah I'm free so would after lunch work?" He nods.

"Sounds good" He smiled. I looked at him for a few more seconds before glancing at the clock.

"Is it 6pm already?" I mumbled to myself. "I gotta hurry back, I promised Lara u wouldn't miss dinner" I say quickly; getting up.

"I can give you a ride if you want" He got up as I did and I couldn't help but nod and smile.

"Thank you" He smirked before walking to the door; opening it for me to walk out. I did before he closed the door behind me and we went for the stairs.

~0~

Only minutes later did he pull up in front of my apartment building and I took my arms away before climbing off.

"Thank you for coffee" I smiled; turning back.

"I should be thanking you, now I can start getting used to all this" He summed up with a smirk; looking around the city. I laughed before nodding.

"So Thursday?" I asked. He nodded and I gave a small wave before running up the stairs.

~0~

"Lara!" I called; walking in the door. Seconds later she came out of her room.

"Damn you Nik! You were this close to missing the new Doctor Who episode!" She yelled. I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"The only reason I was in a hurry was so that I didn't miss dinner" I say. She narrowed her eyes at me. Ok, I'm not a fan of Doctor Who, it's a good show I'm sure! But it always confused me...

"Uh huh" She glared at me playfully before sitting on the couch. I gave her a smirk before walking into the kitchen. I pulled out a notepad and began writing down what I needed to get for groceries. "Where'd you go?" She asked. I stopped before looking up at her.

"Coffee" I sum up before looking back down. I find myself not able to hold back a smile as I continued writing.

 **Please review if you liked it! If you have any ideas of what Nichole and Steve should do next (maybe- depends on if they go do anything else, but you get the idea) please let me know through the reviews! :D**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 **Here's your new chapter! Don't worry I took the requests into account but I don't want to rush the story :) Don't worry though; I think you all will like the next couple chapters! :D**

Steve handed me my cup of coffee before picking up his own. Yes, we were getting coffee again. I didn't really have anything going on and he wasn't busy so he called and asked if I wanted to join him.

"Mind if we go to the park?" He asked.

"Not at all" I smile and nod before we walked out the door.

A few minutes later as we were walking through the park I started to feel pain in my leg. The gunshot wound was healing, but not fast enough for me.

"Mind if we sit for a bit" I asked. He looked over before his eyes shot down to my leg.

"Oh- god, I totally forgot you could've told me sooner, we should've stayed at the café-"

"No, don't worry about that" I smile and laugh a bit. "I'm fine, just needed to give it a break for a few minutes" I tell him. He nods before I glanced behind him; seeing a tree with a shady patch off to the side. "Wanna sit over here?" I asked; walking over. He nods with a smile before following me.

I sat down at the base of the tree and he sat down next to me. I used my hand to massage my leg slightly to get the blood flowing when I noticed him looking at me. I glanced at him before looking back down at my leg for a few seconds before my eyes trailed back over to him.

"What?" I ask; amusement on my face.

"Nothing, I just-" He spoke slowly then stopped before he was just looking at me for a few moments and I didn't know what to say next. "Think you're very pretty" He finished; blushing a bit from embarrassment. I couldn't stop myself from blushing too.

"Thank you" I reply with a smile and chuckle. I was about to respond when I heard something.

I looked up before hearing what sounded like little pebbles on stone and it took me a few moments to see the sidewalk getting wet.

"You feel that?" He looked up after a few seconds and I saw his expression change.

"Oh, almost forgot about the chance of rain today." He spoke up; almost looking a bit worried. I looked over at him when there was an extremely loud crash and I jumped before my eyes shot up.

"Oh my god!" I blurted out before he got to his feet. I began to push myself up before he held out a hand. I gave a small smile before accepting the help as he pulled me up to my feet. I put my hands up to shield my eyes a bit from the rain as we looked around.

Seconds later it began to down pour as we ran through the park. In less than a minute our clothes were soaked and we finally made it over to the entrance. We both stopped before looking around. Both our apartments were several blocks away.

Steve turned back to me briefly before looking across the street.

"Over here-" He nodded before grabbing my hand and we ran across the street; causing a couple of cars to honk at us and I couldn't help but laugh as we made it over to the sidewalk and we ran into a building. It was a bit quiet before we walked over to a two seated table.

It was a chilly but I tried my best to ignore it as we sat down.

"That was interesting" I spoke up after a few seconds. He smiled before there was another loud bang and a flash of lightning outside. We both jumped at that one and I chuckled a bit.

"So uh, are you hungry?" He asked. I looked around and realize we were in a restaurant.

"Sure" I smiled. "I think I have some money-..." I trail off before digging into my pocket.

"No- it's ok, I got it" He says before digging into his own pocket.

"A-are you sure?" I asked. I feel weird; he's been paying for everything- the coffee I mean, not that $1.50 each for a cup is a lot but still.

"Yeah, yeah it's fine" He laughs. I nod before smiling.

A few seconds later I felt a chill running up and down my arms. I slowly brought my hands up to rub them before I crossed my arms. It was freezing in this building. I don't understand how they can keep it this cold.

"Are you cold?" He asked. I looked up before shrugging a little.

"Well, a bit but I-"

"Here" Before I could finish he had taken his jacket off and handed it to me beside the table. I smiled before taking it.

"Thank you" I say. He nodded with a smile before I slipped it on. I had to hide my somewhat shocked look when I realized how warm it was. For being frozen for god knows how many years Steve was good at keeping his jacket warm.

I smirked at my thoughts before we both looked up as the waiter came over.

"What can I get you two?" She asked. I smiled and crossed my arms a bit tighter to keep warm before looking at Steve.

~0~

About 45 minutes later we had gotten food. I got some kind of salad. It has chicken and all sorts of other crap and Steve got this amazing looking Ruben sandwich that I was dying to try. I had already finished my salad and was using my fork to trace through the little bit of dressing on it.

"You still hungry?" Steve asked. I look up from my plate before looking at him.

"I dunno, maybe a little" I shrug.

"Want the rest of this?" He asked; holding out the other half of his sandwich. "I actually already ate before we got coffee" He added. I bit my lip thinking for a moment. I don't wanna be piggish or anything. "I saw the way you were eyeing it earlier" He smirked. I opened my mouth but stopped and smiled.

"I may have skipped lunch..." I start. "And breakfast" I laugh.

"Here" He held it out. "You enjoy that" He smiled. I laughed before taking it.

"Thanks" I took a bite and stopped. "Oh my god" I mumbled with a mouth full of Ruben sandwich. I quickly covered my mouth with my hand; realizing I was chewing and eating in front of a guy. My face went a bit red before I saw Steve chuckle. "That's amazing" I say after I finished swallowing.

"I'm glad you like it" He smiles. I took another small bite of the sandwich; glancing out the window. It was still down pouring and thunder and lightning was raging across the sky.

~0~

A couple hours went by before the storm finally died down and we left the restaurant. I actually had a lot of fun. More than I'd had in a while.

We walked up the stairs to my apartment and made it to my door. I pulled the key from my pocket and unlocked the door before opening it. I turned back to him; standing in the doorway.

"Thank you" I smile. "That was definitely a fun experience" I laugh and he did also.

"I'm glad you had fun then" He smiled. I bit my lip before I heard a door open; I think it was Lara.

"Oh! It's Lara" I whisper. He laughed quietly; looking extremely amused.

"I'll go then" He smiled. I bit my lip again before nodding.

"Ok, bye" I smile. He nodded and gave me a small wave before going down the hall. I looked after him for a few seconds before speaking up.

"Hey, wanna get coffee again?" I whispered. He turned and cracked a smile before nodding. "Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, how bout 11?" I nod and smile. "Bye Nichole" He smiled. I nod and give a small wave before closing the door; turning to see Lara yawn and walk into the living room.

"What the-" She cut off.

"What are you doing up this late- a-... And why are you wet?" She asked; her eyes half open. I swallowed before glancing around the apartment.

"Sorry Lara, I got caught in the storm" I say; walking over to the kitchen.

"What are you wearing?" She asked slowly. I looked over before my eyes shot down and I forgot I was still wearing Steve's brown leather jacket.

"I Uh- bought it" I say. "It was pretty cold out" I chuckle. She gave me a weird look.

"So... Why is it like three sizes too big?" She asked slowly. I swallowed before clearing my throat.

"Go back to bed its late" I tell her. I knew she was half asleep anyway and she probably wouldn't remember this.

"Yeah... alright" She mumbled before turning around and heading back towards her room. I smiled to myself before rolling my eyes. She's a piece of work, I'll give her that. But she's also hilarious; I can't help but love her.

I took off Steve's coat before setting it out to dry on the coat rack. I put a hand through my hair before I headed to my room.

Minutes later I had changed and I brushed my teeth before I climbed into bed. The sheets were cool and helped me to relax before I started to let myself does off.

 **I know this chapter was pretty short but the next chapter will be up within hours! So don't worry! :) Review if you liked or have requests.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 **Told you all it would be up soon! :) I kept my promise. This chapter is longer than the last so don't worry XD I hope you all like it!**

I bit my lip as I put ice onto my leg. I tripped when coming out of my bedroom yesterday morning and pulled something in my calf where I was shot. It hurt like hell now. It had been a couple days since I last saw Steve... I may miss him a little- maybe. Not a straight answer. My life is pretty boring all together so don't judge.

"Still hurt?" Lara asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah" I mumbled; taking the ice off my leg for a moment before placing it back on.

"You need to exercise it" She said. I looked over and saw her putting her hair in a ponytail.

"You walking?" I asked. She nodded.

"You should join me, I could use a little company" I saw her smile. She walks every morning before work.

"Lara I don't wanna" I whined as she walked over.

"C'mon grumpy grumps you should get out of this cramped apartment"

"But I do" I defend in an offended manner.

"Yeah, when you need to kill someone now let's go" She said back. Good point. Funny how she can just say that now likes it's me going to run errands or something. Of course the people I kill are cold blooded criminals and- well yeah.

"Fine" I grumble; getting up before following her to the door.

~0~

About an hour later we were walking around the park still and my leg was killing me.

"Lara can we stop?" I grumbled. She laughed before turning to me as we kept walking.

"Well I don't think you should stop now" She says. I could hear the tease in her voice and I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion before looking up when I saw Steve running. He had told me he did early runs every morning. I felt Lara pick up her pace before she was jogging and I gave her a confused look before jogging to catch up with her when Steve glanced up and saw us.

He slowed down before stopping next to us.

"Hey Nichole" He started before giving a smile. He let out -what sounded like- a tired breath but honestly he didn't look like he even broken a sweat yet.

"Hey" I smiled before seeing Lara open her mouth to speak.

"We were just out on a morning jog" She spoke up. Jog? What game you playing at? "I was actually just about to head back since I have to go to work but Nik here," She laughed and put a hand on my shoulder. "She was gonna keep going" She nodded; still looking at him.

"Well you can tag along with me if you want" Steve turned to me. I was staring daggers at Lara before I turned to him with a smile.

"Sure, I'd love to" I smile and send another glare at Lara when he wasn't looking.

"Well you two have fun" She smiled before turning around to jog the other way. I let out a sigh when she was out of hearing before turning back to Steve with a smile.

"What's so funny?" I asked; seeing his amused face. He opened his mouth to speak before closing it; a grin plastered to his face.

"Did your friend just-"

"Set us up? Yes, yes she did" I sigh; glancing back the way she went. "To be honest- we weren't jogging we were walking. She dragged me out of my apartment this morning so I could join her on her walk because I tripped and screwed up my leg-"

"The one that was shot" He said; probably to clarify. I nodded before continuing.

"Yeah, so I can't really feel it at the moment" I make a face before lifting back leg back so I could rub it a bit.

"Well I can take you back to your apartment if you want" He offered. I couldn't help but smile. Guys just aren't this nice. He's like- too good for his own good. I don't get it.

"Now that I'm here I'd like to do at least something" I chuckle.

"Well are you hungry?" He spoke up. I know where this is going. I hesitate before nodding.

"Yeah, now that I think about it" I smiled.

"Can I take you for breakfast somewhere?" He asked and smiled back. I can't help it; I really wanna go with him even though I shouldn't probably go see if Lara left the mission files on the coffee table again. I suddenly forgot to respond before I quickly shook my head and cleared my throat.

"Yeah, that'd be nice thank you" I laughed; getting over my awkwardness. He nodded before I started to walk with him out of the park.

~0~

About 30 minutes later we had gotten a small little box of pastries and decided to take it with us. We went back into the park and sat in the grass under one of the big oak trees.

I was sitting on his right as I took a small bite of my croissant. It was still nice and warm; one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast.

"So, how's your laptop and phone doing?" I laugh; looking over at him. I saw him smirk before taking a bit of his muffin.

"Good. Haven't forgotten my password yet" He added at the end. I smiled before taking another bite of my croissant.

"If you have any more TV trouble just ask" I add. It was Monday; I'd helped him figure out his TV on Thursday and on Friday we got stuck at the restaurant during the storm.

"I will definitely do that" He said in an amused tone. I took another small bite of my croissant before looking out over the park. It took me about 10 seconds before I realized he was looking at me.

"What?" I asked amusingly. He blinked before looking out at the park before looking at the ground.

"Nothing I just-" He stopped himself and I bit my lip; continuing to look at him; trying to read his expression. He was being difficult.

"Is there something on my face?" I laughed before wiping the edge of my mouth with my hand; hoping there wasn't any of the pastry.

"No" He laughed. "No" He repeated; looking amused.

"Ok then what is it?" I chuckle a bit. He shook his head and looked at the ground before looking back up at me. I looked at him a bit longer and I realized how pretty his eyes were. A very light baby blue.

"Do you-" He started and stopped. "Ok, you know how you said you can't form attachments with people?" He asked. I looked at him for a moment; seeing what almost looked like nervousness.

"Yes" I reply. He let out a breath before continuing.

"How far does that limit go?" He asked quietly. I couldn't hold back a smile.

"Depends" I say; I pulled my knees up so I was crossing my arms around them. "How far are you asking?" He smirked before looking at the ground. Is he like- wondering if he can ask me out? Like more than friends?

"More than just friends" He replied. Well that answers that question. My eyes went to the ground before I let out a breath. This is really a hard decision; I already know the wisest choice –to stay safe and not go any farther-… but everything else is against that.

"I think I can go that far" I say slowly. Too late, I made my choice. He looked up before his expression brightened.

"Really?" I nodded.

"Does this mean that you have a question for me Captain?" I smirked. He rolled his eyes before smiling.

"Yeah" He chuckled; before sitting to face me slightly. "Nichole will you be my girlfriend?" He asked. I smiled before nodding.

"Yes" I smiled. "Yes, I'd like that" I laughed a little before nodding again.

~0~

Oh my god. I'm dating someone. Like- seriously dating someone. And not to mention that someone is Captain America.

A few hours later Steve walked with me back to my apartment. We still had out coffee with us. I still couldn't get the idea out of my head.

I brought my coffee to my lips again before taking a sip.

"We could always use your help" Steve told me. I rolled my eyes before bringing the cup away. He was still trying to convince me with the whole SHIELD thing. Still.

"I told you I don't work well with other people" I say quietly; bringing the cup to my lips before taking a sip. He smirks.

"I don't believe that" He replies. "You worked well with us" He says. I rolled my eyes again as he took a sip of his coffee. "Plus I'd like to have someone watching my back in the field... Someone I can trust" He added a bit quieter; looking down into his cup. I could almost see the disappointment in his eyes.

"That was dramatic" I chuckle and he rolled his eyes before we started laughing.

I jumped when I heard my door close and we both turned and I saw Lara.

"Lara?! I thought you were at work!" I blurted out. She smirked before throwing the key and her jacket on the table by the door.

"Well I was, and then got out early" She replied slowly. "You forgot to mention you were having company after" She said; glancing between the two of us.

I swallowed before looking over at Steve.

"I'll- just go" He said quietly with a smile. I gave a nod and a smile back before he leaned over and kissed my cheek. I saw Lara's eyes widen but I didn't bother looking at her before I gave him a smile and he walked towards the door; grabbing his jacket that I gave back to him on his way.

Lara gave him a smile as he walked by.

"Captain" She greeted as he walked by and he gave her a smile. She turned to me soon after with wide eyes and a huge smile.

Steve opened the door and we exchanged a smile before he left; closing the door behind him.

"So... How was breakfast with S-" She started. I cut her off and rolled my eyes before sipping my coffee.

"Lara you're already in trouble for pulling that stunt!" I make clear.

"You two are dating I knew it!" She yelled; jumping in excitement.

"Lara I swear if you-"

"I can't believe how perfect you two are- And you're actually taking this seriously!" She squealed in excitement again; ignoring my threat. Oh my god why... Why couldn't she just- stay at work? "You two are just so cute, I'm so getting pictures next time you're with him-"

"Don't be one of those stalker friends Lara" I laugh. She smiles with a chuckle before walking over into the living room.

"Wait- was that his jacket that you were wearing a couple days ago?" She stopped. I shifted uncomfortably where I stood.

"Maybe it was" I bit my lip and cracked a smile.

"He's so sweet" She replied; putting a hand to her chest before sitting down. "Wait, wait, and wait- how many times have you seen him- like gone somewhere with him-...? Minus today's breakfast?" She grinned and asked. My eyes trailed up to the ceiling as I began counting in my head.

Well there was the first time we walked in the park, and the second and third that we spent at the coffee shop and then went back to his apartment so I could help him with 21st century stuff, then the three more times that we just walked around the city and talked about whatever was going on, oh- then the seventh time was when we got coffee and went to the park- only to get caught in that rain storm so we retreated to this restaurant and got stuck there for a few hours and ended up having an amazing dinner, then he brought me back to the apartment. Then of course today for breakfast.

"Eh, about 7 times give or take" I shrug. Her eyes went wide.

"So you've been on 7 dates with this guy" She replies. I quickly opened my mouth to object to that when I realized I was dating him now.

"Ok yeah- but we're not rushing anything so don't get any ideas" I make clear.

"Aw, that just makes it even more perfect" She whispered. I sent her a warning look and she rolled her eyes. "Alright I'm gonna take a shower" Lara said; walking for the bathroom. "Don't leave for more coffee or anything" She added playfully. I rolled my eyes before she closed the door.

~0~

After Lara got out of the shower she came up to me about 30 minutes later. I was sitting on the couch eating an early dinner.

"Got you a mission" She says. I immediately dropped my spoon in my soup bowl and turned to her.

"Really?!" I asked in shock. She nodded and smiled.

"Yes, but you have to be cautious. With that leg injury I wouldn't want you going period..." She trails off.

"But you know you can't stop me" I smile sweetly.

"Ok, here" She put her laptop down in front of me. My eyes began to trail over the information. "This man is in charge of some of the major drug dealing businesses in New York City. You take him down it'll be a lot less for the Police to handle" She sums up. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at the document.

"Where did this come from? Cause I've never seen anything like this is the Police Department case files" I asked after a few seconds. She shrugged moments later.

"Cold case" She sums up. "After a while the Police knew they had no hard evidence to shut them down so they declared it a cold case" She tells me.

I'm still confused but nod. So... If this guy is in charge of almost every drug dealing business in New York City-... The Police couldn't have declared it cold. First off it seems like too much for the police to handle unless they send in some highly trained officers.

"Ok" I speak up; getting up from the couch. "I'll get ready"

 **Did you like it? Let me know in the reviews if you did. The next chapter will be up soon if you guys want it to be. In other words if I get enough convincing reviews that you guys want the next chapter up ASAP then I may give in and upload it XD**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 **Sorry I didn't update this sooner! I hope you like this chapter**

I peeked around the corner of the building before I slowly started walking towards it.

After Lara gave me the coordinates for the main dealing area I got ready to go and set out. That was a few hours ago. It was about 5pm-ish right now.

I made my way to the fire escape before I started to climb.

"Hand it over" Around 5 stories later I stopped when I heard a voice. I peeked into the window and saw 5 men. Too many for me to take down all at once if they all have guns. Well- maybe I could. Better sorry than safe I always say. -I know that's the wrong way to say it I just don't like it when Lara -especially- says "stay safe!" When I leave. Ugh.

"Give it to me!" The one man growled; pointing what looked like a 9mm handgun at one of the men. The man nodded before pulling out a brief case. The first man took it and put it on the table before opening it. He then started to count the money that was in it.

This is my chance. I slipped into the window with broken glass and kept my eyes on them. They were facing away from me.

I finally got a few steps closer before I realized they were all armed. Two had semi-automatics and one had a single action revolver. The last had some kind of double action revolver, I think.

I quickly pulled a throwing knife from my belt and took a deep breath.

Well... Here goes nothing.

I threw the first knife and it stabbed one right in the center of his back. He cried out and the other men turned quickly. I threw two more knives and both hit their targets before there were only two people left.

"Looks like someone stumbled onto our little deal here fellas" This was probably the man leading the operation talking.

I slowly let another knife slide down my jacket sleeve. Yeah I know I keep them in weird places.

As soon as they were in the palms of my hands I threw them both. But the lead man had already started running and both missed they center targets; hitting the lead man's arm while the other hit the second in the thigh.

I watched the lead man run and he ran out the door and down the stair well. I went to chase the second as he ran into a different room. At least I can get the second man in charge.

He ran into a dark room and stopped. I came to a jog before slowing down. Seconds later a small light came on and I realized what I'd done.

At least a dozen armed men now surrounded me.

"Looks like you fell right into this one" He chuckled; receiving a gun from the man next to him. I only glared at him before looking around. Yep, every man was armed. "You're gonna tell us how much you know about the drug dealings and we may let you go"

"No you won't" I felt he corners of my mouth twitch up into a small smile. Hell he won't. This is such a Villain cliché. They never keep their word, I mean- come on.

I felt two more knives slide down each sleeve and they were almost to my hand when there was a yell and they all turned to something behind me. I didn't care what it was I grabbed the knives and threw them at two men. Running towards one I jumped and wrapped my legs around his neck before flipping and it heard the snap before rolling to the ground; quickly kicking a leg out from under a man to my right before I jumped to my feet and blocked several punches; quickly finishing three men off.

I turned in time to block a punch when I saw a man with a gun to my far left. I was about to duck when something came flying out of nowhere and knocked the guy back several feet and he got slammed into the wall. I turned; feeling my hair that was in a ponytail hit my face slightly before I pushed it out of the way.

I turned around and let out a breath; seeing Steve standing there in his suit.

"Uh, hi" I start. He smirked before walking in past me; grabbing his shield that was stuck in the wall before walking over.

"Hi" He says back.

"Long time no see" I smirk as he walks up to me. I looked up at him for a moment before narrowing my eyes. Oh my god she did not.

"I'm sorry, Lara told me this was a Police cold case" I mumble. "She is so going to get it when I get back-" I start before walking for the door. Suddenly an agent walked in and I quickly hid behind the door.

"Captain, several men got away. Fury is calling us back in to regroup" I heard a voice. I looked at Steve and saw him nod before he gave me a nod seconds later. I peeked out and saw the agent gone.

"Thank you" I whisper. "Fury will have my head if he knows I interfered with SHIELD missions" I grumble; walking towards the window before looking down.

"You're welcome" He chuckles. "I'm actually kinda glad I ran into you" I heard him say from behind me. I looked out the window for a few more seconds before turning back.

"Oh really?" I say playfully. He rolled his eyes after a few seconds.

"You busy tonight?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow before shaking my head.

"What, you haven't had enough of me today?" I smirk. He shook his head before looking at the ground with a smirk.

"Of course not" He replied. I smiled before speaking up.

"No, I'm free" I add.

"Stark is having dinner and since you missed out on Shwarma he wants you to come so we can have an 'Avenger's Assemble' again" He says. I couldn't help but laugh before walking over.

"Yeah I guess I can spare a few hours" I smile. I didn't really eat _dinner,_ dinner. I just ate a few spoonful's of soup. It doesn't count. "It's just a casual dinner for the team, nothing big" I nod before I heard more footsteps outside.

"On one condition" I add. He raised an eyebrow. "Help me get to the fire escape without being seem" I smile. He grins before nodding.

"Alright" He sighs before we walked towards the door.

He walked in front of me before looking out into the big room; seeing two agents talking in the doorway of the stairwell exit. He quickly nodded to me before we ran to the other side and to the broken window. I climbed out and dropped down; about eye level with the ledge of the window before I looked back up. He leaned on the window sill before I smiled.

"See you tonight then" I smiled. He nodded before giving a smile. I was about to climb down but something in my head was keeping me from budging. Aw what the hell; I'm dating him so I gotta get used to this.

I quickly went on the tips of my toes and kissed him on the cheek real quick before smiling.

"Have fun cleaning up the mess" I smirk. He rolls his eyes before nodding. Suddenly voices came into view and he quickly looked back before looking at me.

"Bye Nik" He whispered. I mouthed a bye back before I started climbing down.

~0~

Ok... So I had three hours to get back; shower and make sure I didn't have too many visible injuries before going to Stark Tower. I wonder if he happened to mention to anyone at the tower about us- going out. Not that it's a big deal but I'd appreciate if he waited.

I was about 20 feet away from the edge of the alley onto the street when suddenly someone grabbed me from behind; keeping my arms down. I felt someone put something over my mouth before I realized it was a chloroform soaked rag. I tried to scream out before I tried to save what air I had left.

Oh god- don't breathe in don't breathe in.

I held my breath for as long as possible before my vision started spotted and it went black.

~0~

My head was forced under water again as I tried to scream out. Water filled my lungs and I couldn't breathe before I was pulled from the water again; seeing the men but not clearly. They injected me with something; causing hallucinations and a freaking horrible head ache.

"Ready to cooperate yet?" My target asked. The lead man that got away didn't actually runaway- just waited til I left the building.

"No" I cough before my head was forced under water again and I tried to hold what breath I had but I quickly lost it and fell unconscious.

~0~

My head and body were on fire as my eyes opened to slits. My head was pounding before I managed to get a look at my surroundings; cars were honking and I realized I was in an alley.

I guess those bastards gave up on trying getting me to talk. They wanted to know about what info I collected about the drug dealings but I; of course; was a pain in the ass and refused.

My vision was going ballistic; everything was spinning and had an echo. I was lying on my side I think.

Before I could get a handle on anything I could see a shadow and I think I felt someone help me sit up. I couldn't hear much of anything now but I think someone was in front of me. Ringing echoed in my ears as if I was next to a bomb that went off. I couldn't tell whether or not I was looking at them before I felt like I was moving. My eyes somewhat trailed down to the ground and I saw it moving from under me and I think someone was carrying me.

I tried to move to get up but my body wasn't cooperating before I felt myself go under again.

~0~

 _"Please!" I cried. "Please stop I didn't mean to!" I cried. The knife cut into my skin again and I let out another cry._

 _"This is your fault!" He yelled; the anger and rage filled my ears. He punched me and I got knocked to the floor; my head started pounding. He pulled a gun and aimed it at me._

~0~

I bolted up from where I was laying. My eyes shot around. I couldn't breathe right.

I looked around; not recognizing any of my surroundings. Where the hell am I?!

I felt my head pounding and everything was on fire before I noticed someone to my right; Steve.

"Hey, you're ok" He turned to face me more before I could see the concern in his eyes. I tried to open my mouth to speak but nothing came out as I struggled to breathe. "Calm down" His voice was somewhat relaxing and after a minute or two I finally managed to speak up.

"Where am I?" I asked; my eyes darting around the unfamiliar surroundings.

"Stark Tower" He answered. "I found you unconscious in the alley as we were leaving the building" He said; giving a clear impression that he was somewhat worried. "I thought you wouldn't want a hospital so I brought you here" He added.

"Well you thought right" I tell him after taking in a few breaths. He cracked a small smile before getting serious again.

"What Happened?"

I swallowed before looking around. I was in some kind of lab looking place; a small room. Looks like Tony had his own little hospital room in the tower near the lab.

"Nothing; just a scuffle after I left the building." I reply; trying to sit up. I glanced back over at him when he didn't say anything.

"Do you want me to stick with that lie?" He said back. I clenched my jaw. I don't tell anyone these things. I know he was hoping I would at least open up to him a bit but I was still a bit unsure. I don't tell people these things because I don't want anyone worrying about me. I can take care of myself but I do understand his concern now that our relationship is a bit-... More serious.

"I was in some trouble, that's all" I reply. "Got caught in some nasty business" I add. Hopefully that would make him feel better. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine" I say quickly.

He looked at me for a few moments before just giving a nod.

"Ok" I could tell he was holding back the urge to keep asking questions and I was thankful he did.

"So what happened here Nichole" I turned to see Dr. Banner walk into the room.

"Dr. Banner" I spoke up; sitting up and leaning back against the bed.

"I think we're at the point where you can call me Bruce" He chuckled. I shrug before he walking towards me; checking some kind of medical equipment beside me.

"You still have an extremely high fever" He mumbled to himself.

"Don't worry I'm fine Dr.- Bruce" I stutter; sitting up more before feeling a pain in my side; causing me to let a pained whimper escape my mouth. I looked down before feeling a small patch bandage under my shirt; just above my hip in my side.

"You were stabbed" Bruce says with concern. I felt my head start to pound before I glanced over and saw Steve's shirt was covered in what I believed to be my blood from carrying me to the Tower. "Do you remember this happening to you?" He asked. I forced myself to sit up farther before I started to fall to the side and felt several arms; at least 3 or 4; hold me back up before I ended up lying back again.

"Can you make sure she doesn't leave? I may need to get a sedative"

"No!" I make clear. "In fine" I demand between clenched teeth.

"Nichole you're not fine" Steve told me; his voice got more serious. At that point I couldn't really feel anything. My vision got blurry again before I felt my head pound harder.

"Bruce l-let me leave" My voice got shaky. He walked out of the room and my eyes trailed over to Steve.

"Nichole we can't help you if you won't let us" He says. I blinked several times; my vision becoming cloudy.

"Just because we're dating, doesn't mean you can make me stay here" I breathe; trying to keep myself from falling unconscious again. He cracked a smile.

"Well can at least let me worry about you?" He asks. I shake my head and roll my eyes slightly.

"I think I can allow that" I say playfully. Bruce walked back into the room.

"Nichole I'll need to do some tests and take some blood" He says. My breath caught in my throat before my eyes shot around the room.

"Wait- but I thought-"

"Those men pumped a lot of hallucinogen drugs into your system- they're having a bad effect on your mind" He says; looking at a few of the machines next to the bed I was in. "Your brain activity is spiking dramatically" He mumbles.

"Bruce I'm fine please just let me go" I tell him. He was already getting a needle ready and I started thinking about my training. Before I knew it I was thinking about my training years and years ago.

When I first started my training I had to go through a few years of torture so I could be tolerant of any types of torture that people could through at me. The only problem was that there wasn't any mercy during my training. Once I committed they didn't let up.

Before I could get out of my memories I felt a prick and I took in a quick breath before my eyes shot down to my arm; seeing he had already injected the sedative. It was only seconds later that my eyes couldn't stay open any longer and everything slowly faded into darkness.

 **Please review if you liked it :) The next chapter will be up very soon I promise**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

 **Hey! :D I'm glad you all liked the last chapter, I hope you like this one too!**

When I woke up again I was lying in a bed. I rolled over and winced at the pain in my side. I don't even remember getting stabbed. They must have done it in the alley; hoping I would bleed out before anyone found me.

I finally sat up and looked around. This was like a really fancy bedroom. The kind you see in really expensive hotels or something.

I pushed myself up a bit more before swinging my legs off the bed.

It took me a few minutes before I got walking and I headed for the door. I opened it and stepped into the hall; walking down before seeing a staircase. My eyes darted around before I started to walk down them.

After a few minutes of walking I heard voices. Pushing a door open I stopped where I was... seeing the Avengers sitting around in this giant communal area.

I was still in Stark Tower.

"Nik!" I heard someone and I looked over to see Clint walk over. "How you doin?" He asked. I smiled and nodded.

"Good, still have a bitch of a head ache." I mumble. He smirks before Natasha and Bruce walked up and so did Steve and Thor.

"You feeling alright?" Bruce asked. I nodded again and smiled.

"How long was I out?"

"Several days; almost a week" He replies.

"Shit, are you serious?" I muttered; putting a hand through my hair. Not good. Lara's gonna flip.

"Breakfast is about to start; care to join us?" Natasha smirked. I opened my mouth to object; saying I have to go when Tony cut me off.

"It'll be our first Avenger breakfast since you missed the dinner! Hell yeah she's joining us" He said.

"Yes you must indeed join us" Thor added. We all laughed before I found myself being led farther into the room.

Most of them went back to what they were doing when I put my hand into my pocket; looking for my phone. My eyes went wide when I couldn't find it and I started panicking.

"Looking for this?" I turned to see Steve walk over; holding my phone. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Yes" I reply; taking it.

"I caught Tony trying to hack into it so he could change your ringtones to the Avengers theme song" He chuckled. I rolled my eyes.

"Sounds like something he would do" I smile.

"Nichole?" I turned to see a woman with strawberry hair walk over. I exchanged a small smile with Steve before walking over.

"You must be Pepper" I smile; shaking her hand.

"That would be me" She chuckled. "We're about to eat, so go ahead and grab what food you want" She smiled. I nodded before going with everyone to get food.

After grabbing a plate and some food I sat down next to Steve.

"You gonna tell me what happened?" He asked quietly as I sat down. I rolled my eyes before sighing.

"The men that got away from the drug dealing- they tried to get information out of me, no big deal" I whisper before looking at him. I could see a different look in his eyes; something I hadn't seen before. It wasn't anger necessarily, more so concern but I still couldn't figure it out.

"Don't worry, I'm sure SHIELD will get them" I add. He just nodded before I looked up; seeing Natasha come over and sit on my right while Thor, Bruce, and Clint all sat across from us. Tony and Pepper took the end seats.

"So how's the leg?" Natasha asked; looking up from her plate. I shrug.

"I mean, it's ok- much better thanks to the stretching but otherwise it's pretty solid" I nod to myself. She smiles before nodding.

"Good"

"So Nik..." I looked over at Clint who was sitting across from Natasha. "Thought about joining anything lately?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.

"Clint-"

"Hey don't say anything you'll regret!" He argues. "It's just a thought" He added. I looked down at my plate with a smirk. I'm technically already on SHIELD file as one of the Avengers so-... Yeah I'm sort of already part of SHIELD. Of course that's not what he means though.

~0~

After breakfast I walked over to Bruce.

"Am I allowed to go back to my apartment?" I asked. He hesitated and that immediately gave me my answer. "Bruce-"

"Nichole you went through some pretty rough torture and I wanna make sure you're well enough before you go" He says. Please- I endured 5 years of torture as part of my training to be a lethal master assassin. "Whatever drug they gave you really messed with you mind" He adds. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What'd you mean?" I asked slowly. He furrowed his eyebrows in return.

"You don't remember?" He asked slowly. Seems I'm not remembering a lot of crap that's happening to me lately. I looked around before I saw Steve walk up slightly to my right.

"No..." I trailed off. Then it hit me- like really hit me. "Nightmares" I say simply. He nodded.

"And some pretty bad ones I'll say"

"Don't worry it's normal" I say. "I've always had those" He nods after a few seconds.

"Alright... Well at least let me do a few more tests to make sure before you go" I nod before he walked away. I turned to face Steve who had been quietly standing there for almost a minute.

"You sure you wanna leave just yet?" I nod.

"I need to get back, Lara's probably worried si-"

"Don't worry I stopped by and told her what happened" He says. I hesitate before responding.

"Really?" He nodded.

"Yeah, she seemed alright. I told her I'd call when you were ok" I nod before smiling.

"Thank you" I say a bit quieter. "Oh, do uh-" I looked around at everyone. "Do they know about us-" I cut off; trying to find the right words.

"No, but I wasn't going to tell them" I says. "Not if you don't want me to of course but I didn't really feel the need to" He says. I smile before nodding.

"Should we just keep it to ourselves for now?" I asked. He nodded after a few moments with a smile.

"If you two are done staring into each other's eyes I suggest you come over here" Someone yelled. Yeah that's Tony. We both rolled our eyes before walking over.

~0~

A few hours later we ended up having lunch and Bruce finished my final tests. He gave me the all clear but still would have liked to keep me overnight to be safe but I decided against. I needed to get back to my apartment.

I grabbed the coat that Natasha let me borrow before walking into the elevator. About a minute later it opened and I walked out of the Stark Tower lobby. I felt the warm rays of sunlight hit me and I was about to take a step onto the sidewalk.

"Can I give you a lift?" I jumped only slightly and saw Steve leaning against the wall of the building. I couldn't hold back a laugh.

"Were you just waiting here for me to walk out?" I asked slowly. He hesitated before shrugging.

"Maybe... Maybe not" He smirked. I rolled my eyes before glancing to my left; seeing his motorcycle parked about 15 feet away.

"I thought Clint said you guys had a mission in an hour" I say. That's what I heard at least.

"Well, yeah. But I haven't had any time to talk to you alone so..." he shrugs; walking over. "I can spare a few minutes" He smiles. I roll my eyes before smiling.

"Alright fine" I sigh before he smiled and I followed him over to his bike.

He sat down before bringing the engine to life. I sat down behind him and he scooted up slightly on the seat.

"You know at some point you're gonna get pulled over for having me ride this without a second seat" I laugh. He shrugs before looking back with a smirk.

"I'm sure they'd understand" He says playfully. I chuckle before wrapping my arms around his midsection as he drove out onto the road.

~0~

Minutes later we got to my apartment building and we both got off his bike. I crossed my arms as we were walking in and stepped into the elevator.

"I feel like I say this a lot-" I start; turning to him. "But thank you" I smile.

"You're welcome, I mean you don't have to thank me for everything" He laughed. "But I appreciate it all the same" He smiled as the door opened and we walked out. After coming around the bend I saw my door at getting closer. I was about to open it when I he spoke up.

"I know this isn't the best time ask," He started. I took my hand off the knob. "But could I take you to dinner?" He asked. I smiled. "A proper one- n-not that I didn't enjoy the dinner we had before, but we kinda got stranded there in the storm" He smiled nervously. I laughed and smiled before nodding.

"Yeah" I nod. "I'd like that" I smiled before opening the door. I pushed it a bit further giving him the impression to come with.

"I know with what happened and everything that my timing couldn't be worse but-"

"Actually you couldn't have better timing, after that I don't think I'll be dealing with any bad people for the next week or so" I chuckle. He smiled before nodding.

"Would Friday work?" He cleared his throat. I think for a few seconds.

"Yeah, Friday would be great" I smile. Suddenly there was a bang and before I really took the time to figure out what the sound was I had the gun on top of the dresser in my hand and I jerked my head around to see Lara trip out of her room.

"Oh- sorry, didn't mean to barge in" She started. I narrowed my eyes at her and slowly lower the gun. Like hell you did Lara. I turned back to Steve before walking over to him; putting the gun back down. He pulled out his phone and I saw his expression change when he looked at it.

"Oh no" I mumble playfully. He smirked before putting his phone back in his pocket.

"Time for me to go, Clint will get on my case if I'm not there in the next few minutes." I nod after a few seconds.

"Well... have fun" I smile. He nods with a smile before walking for the door. "Friday?" I ask quickly. He nods.

"Friday" He repeated before walking out the door. I closed it behind him before turning; putting my back to it. Lara was grinning at me and I had to roll my eyes.

"You ok? He told me what happened" She walked into the living room. I nodded before walking into the kitchen.

"Yeah I'm fine" I say quietly.

"So he's taking you to dinner on Friday" She says in a teasing tone. I rolled my eyes.

"We're not taking this too seriously yet Lara"

"Does he know that?" She asked.

"Actually he does. We've talked about it before and we don't want to-..." I look for the right word.

"Rush anything?" She question.

"Yes, yes exactly" I say with a smile.

"Don't ruin it with this guy ok?" She laughed. "He's the best thing that's happened to you in a long time from what I see" She looked over at me. I raised an eyebrow.

"How would you know?" I mumbled.

"Don't play games with me Woods" She said playfully. I rolled my eyes before giving her a playful glare.

"What about that 'cold case' you gave me?" My eyebrow twitched up. She stopped before looking over at me with an innocent smile.

"I may have forgotten to mention after being made a cold case SHIELD got ahold of it and the mission was given to Captain Rogers..." She smiled.

"Not cool Lara, he'll think I'm stalking him or something" I laugh. She rolls her eyes.

"No he won't" She says before walking to the fridge. I let out a tired breath before walking over to the couch; letting myself slowly fall onto the soft cushions. Seconds later Lara walked over and handed me a cup. Furrowing my eyebrows I took it slowly.

"What are you playing at?" I ask slowly. She rolls her eyes again.

"I need to make sure you feel better soon and that you're nice and healthy" She grins. I raise an eyebrow before sipping the tea she brought me. "Your date's on Friday girl, and I'm gonna help you get ready" She adds. I sigh and roll my eyes.

"I don't think I need help Lara-"

"Hon, the only time you go on dates is when you're about to kill someone. You can't mess this up" She says. I suddenly feel the uneasiness take over slightly when I realize she's right. I haven't dated anyone or gone on a date in this century. At least not with a good person that hasn't committed murder or any other serious crime. I've been trained to act, to kill, and to never open up…

How in the hell am I going to survive Friday!?

"That look of yours says it all" She chuckles. I swallow and smile nervously.

"Oh my god Lara…" I mumble; gripping my cup of tea a bit tighter. "What am I gonna do?" I whisper. She laughs before sitting down in the arm chair.

"Don't worry I'm sure he won't mind your awkwardness" She laughs. I finally take a deep breath to calm down before rolling my eyes.

 **Please review! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

 **So sorry everyone! It's been a crazy week! XD I hope you like this chapter! :D I'm hoping that you do**

"What about this?" Lara held out a dress from her closet. I made a weird face.

"He said it's a casual date Lara" I remind her.

"Over dressing isn't a crime Nik" She says back before putting the dress back in the closet. I huff; crossing my arms as I was sitting on her bed.

Oh my god this is going to crash and burn;

I can see it.

"What about this one?" I heard her say again before I looked up; seeing her holding up another dress. I frown.

"Dude, I'm not wearing a dress!" I laughed. "You heard him; he said it was just casual. Nothing really fancy yet" I say again. She rolled her eyes.

I went back to looking at the ground as I propped my elbow on my knee and leaned on my fist.

I wonder where we'll be going. He never mentioned it, but of course he is the type of guy to surprise so...

"What about this skirt with-"

"Wait, I think I know what I wanna wear" I cut her off when a thought popped into my head. I quickly got up and ran out of her room and into mine.

I came back in a couple minutes later and Lara smiled when she saw me.

"That's so cute" She chuckled. "Yep, perfect thing to wear." She laughed. I smiled before rolling my eyes.

I was wearing a white flannel shirt under my brown leather jacket, with dark blue skinny jeans with my dark brown laced up boots that stopped just below my knee. And they don't have some weird heel on them. In my opinion you can't mix combat boots with heels... Just saying.

"When is he picking you up?" She asked. I looked at the clock. Oh my god!

"Shit! In like 15 minutes!" I curse under my breath before running towards my room.

"Don't forget to brush, floss, and use mouth wash!" She made clear as she followed me into my room. "Twice!" She added. I gave her a weird look.

"Why would I do all that twice?" I asked.

"In case you guys make out, which you probably will" she shrugged.

"Lara!" I seethed; getting a bit red in the face. "It's our first time going out for dinner!" I remind her. "I doubt we'll even kiss." She rolls her eyes.

"Second time going out to dinner." She corrects. "And at least make sure you bring mint gum" She says before walking into the bathroom that had doors to both our rooms. "How are you doing your hair?" She asked. I huff.

"I'm thinking-..." I trail off.

"Never mind, I'm doing your hair" She says with a smile before grabbing my arm and pulling me into the bathroom.

"Lara I am completely capable of-"

"Shh!" She cut me off before pulling over the stool and making me sit on it. She used to work at a hair salon for almost 3 years when she was still doing college, before she went on to work at Stark Industries. So I know she knows what she's doing. And she can do anything pretty quick too.

~0~

 **10 minutes later...**

"Haha! Done!" She smiled before putting the brush and hair dryer down. I quickly got up to get my toothbrush when I stopped; looking at myself in the mirror.

"Holy-"

"Ah, ah, ah" She warned with a chuckle. I looked at myself for a few more seconds. My hair was parted to the left and layered down the side and she actually just layered all my hair. My hair came a few inches before my shoulders; just below my collar bone. "Like it?" She smirked. I nodded.

"Yeah thanks" I laugh before giving her a quick side hug.

"Brush twice!" She added before running out of the room. I rolled my eyes before I got out my toothbrush.

~0~

 **4 minutes later...**

"He's here" Lara called over. I quickly spit out the mouth wash before walking out of the room.

"Lara, please go in your room" I plead. She gives me a look before sighing.

"Fine" She smirks before walking out. I quickly got over to the door before opening it a crack; seeing Steve.

"Hey" Smiled.

"Hi" He smirked; seeing me out of breath just a bit before I opened the door all the way. I saw his expression change a bit.

"What?" I chuckled. "Did I overdress?" I asked; with a nervous smile.

"No your perfect" He replied. I blushed a little smiling.

"Well thank you, and you look pretty handsome yourself" I smirk. He laughed a little before I let him in.

"Sorry, I'm a little behind." I chuckle; walking over to the kitchen counter. "I'll only be a sec-" I turned back around before stopping; seeing he was holding out a rose. I looked back up at him with my mouth open slightly.

"It was either this or daisies. So I went with my gut" He smirked before holding the rose slightly in front of his face in a playfully embarrassed way. "Daisies right, I'm guessing?" He asked. I could hear the hint of regret.

"No, no it's perfect" I smile before taking it. "Thank you, I love it" I smiled bigger before quickly taking in the flowers scent. I always loved the smell of roses.

"Hey everybody" Lara smiled as she walked out of her room. I saw Steve laughed softly before I rolled my eyes and looked over at her as we both turned to face her. "Oh my god you guys look adorable" She said. I looked at the ground with a sigh and Steve laughed a bit.

"Alright, let's go" I say to him quickly before gently grabbing his arm and walking towards the door with him.

"Have fun you two!" Lara called before Steve closed the door behind us with a smirk. I let out a sigh.

We started walking down the hall before I spoke up.

"So where we going?" I asked. He smiled.

"Surprise" He shrugged. I nod in realization.

"So you're one of those people" I laugh. He chuckled.

"If that's the way you wanna put it then yes" He smiled; obviously very amused.

~0~

About 30 minutes later we were still on his motorcycle going to the mystery place. We left the city- like, the actual island; and were driving through a wooded area.

Then he started to slow down. He pulled over on the dirt area beside the road and I gave him a confused look.

"What are we doing here?" I asked. He smirked before opening a small compartment on the pack of his bike that he strapped on.

"You'll see" He says playfully. He pulled out a bag and threw it over his shoulder before walking slightly past me. I looked after him for a moment before he stopped and turned to me. "Coming?" He smirked. I nod and smile before following him. We walked down a small trail for about a minute before he stopped. "Ok, now you can't look" He chuckled. I raised an eyebrow.

"Uh huh" I chuckled before taking a small step forward. He stepped behind me and covered my eyes before we started walking.

"Stump" He said and I had about 5 seconds before my feet got tangled before I stumbled slightly and burst out laughing.

"Nice warning" I laughed. I held my hands out slightly to make sure I wasn't about to run into anything. A few seconds later we stopped and I could feel a small breeze.

"Ok..." He took his hands away and I opened my eyes to see one of the most beautiful sights I had ever scene.

We were at the shore of the forest; the small waves were gently hitting the tree-lined ledge. As the sun was setting you could see the Statue of Liberty in the distance along with New York City. The sky was painted in bright orange, pink, purple, yellow, and more.

"Sorry if I was misleading when I said if I could take you to dinner" He said apologetically.

"No, it's beautiful" I breathed. "How did you even find this place?" I asked; turning to him. He dug his hands in his pockets.

"Well," He started and then let out a laugh. "On a mission we pasted the shore right here and I thought of you, so..." He shrugged with a nervous smile. I smiled before walking up to him as he pulled the bag off his shoulder.

"Figured something easy to eat would be better" He says. "So I bought several different cheeses, meats, and of course I brought bread" He smirks.

Oh my god how did he know?! I seriously love meals like that! The cheeses, meats, and some warm bread really hit the spot.

"That's perfect, you couldn't have chosen better" I laughed. I looked over at the shore.

My eyes locked on a big flat rock shooting out slightly over the water, about a foot. It was about 3 feet up; ascending over the water.

"And there's out table" I smile before grabbing his right hand and walking over. Once we got over to the rock I pulled myself up and he handed me the pack before coming up himself. He sat down next to me before opening the pack. There was a small towel that he set down between us and he put down several small containers containing cheese and meat. Then he pulled out a loaf of warm bread wrapped in tinfoil.

"And I managed to fit this," He says before pulling out a bottle of wine. I couldn't help but laugh.

"You have skill" I smile playfully. Funny he managed fit all this. He pulled out two glasses as well. We started opening everything before he poured two glasses. He handed me one and picked up his.

"Thank you" I took a small sip of it before looking over at him.

"Have you had wine?" I smirked. He took in a breath as he opened his mouth to speak before hesitating; closing his mouth. I chuckled.

"A couple times, yes. But not too often" He says. "It's not like he alcohol affects me, so..." He trailed off. I raised an eyebrow. "The serum prevents it from having any effect, so I Uh," He smirks. "I can't get drunk" He looks down. I laugh a bit.

"I'm sorry, that's quite a loss" I tell him. He shrugs before laughing a bit.

~0~

"Ok what about those?" I asked; pointing to the cluster of stars to the left. It was dark now, and we were laying on the rock trying to make shapes with what stars that could be seen in the sky.

He narrowed his eyes a bit before sighing.

"I'd say it looks like some kind of turtle" He says. I laughed before smiling. "What about those" He pointed directly up at a small cluster of stars. I thought for a moment.

"Looks like... flower" I smile. He smirks before letting out a quiet breath. "A beautiful rose," I gestured playfully with my hands.

"Not as beautiful as you though" He replied. I couldn't hold back a smile before looking over at him. He looked over a couple seconds later and smiled. I got lost in thought when I looked down; blinking out of my thoughts.

"What time is it?" I asked. He pulled out his phone seconds later.

"Oh wow, 11:50" He says. We quickly sat up before packing up the food and bottle. He jumped down off the rock and I tossed him the pack. I sat down on the ledge of the rock when he stopped me.

"Let's make this proper" He smirked and I only had time to raise an eyebrow when he picked me up bridal style and I let out a surprise laugh before he set me back down. I quickly got my balance again before smiling.

"Why thank you" I reply as I looked up at him. He smiled and I let out a silent breath. It got quiet as he was standing in front of me and all I could hear was the crickets chirping and the quiet waves hitting the shore.

I saw him look at the ground before taking small step closer. My first instinct would be to take a step back but I made myself stand still as he gently pushed the hair back behind my ear.

Don't move. Don't move. At least 4 different ways of breaking his out stretch arm are running through my head and it's taking a hell of a lot of self-control to keep myself from acting how I normally would.

He leaned in a bit and I felt the corner of my mouth twitch up in a small smile before I leaned up a bit. He titled his head slightly and I could feel him place his hand gently to the side- slightly behind my neck.

As more and more combat moves jumped in and out of thought it took me a few seconds to realize I was all of a sudden kissing him. My eyes closed and I finally relaxed.

Almost every ounce in my body is screaming me to stop but for some reason I don't want to. I should be in control, not letting myself give in. I'm so used to doing what want, and how I want it. I've never been this vulnerable in my life since I was with... _Him_. But that was a long time ago and I've changed because of it.

I pulled out a few seconds later and we both opened our eyes.

"I'm sorry; I was moving too fast wasn't I?" Was the first thing he said. I shook my head.

"No, you were fine. You actually had nice timing" I smile and chuckle. "It's just, I haven't done this in a while" I admit. He nods.

"Tell me if I'm moving too fast" He says. I chuckle before nodding. "Was that ok?" He raised an eyebrow in question. I opened my mouth with a smile and hesitated.

"I think so, but just to make sure-" I stopped before leaning up and kissing him again. I could feel him smile before I pulled out of the kiss seconds later. "Yep, that was perfect" I smile. He laughed before nodding.

"So would this be good enough for a second dinner?" He asked amusingly as we walked back up towards his bike. I playfully looked up to the sky like I was in deep thought.

"Yeah I think I'll have time" I shrug like it may or may not happen. Of course we will.

"Alright, I look forward to that" He smiled. I laughed softly before we started up the small little trail. He looked over at me and then down before grabbing my hand. I looked over before smiling as we continued back; holding hands as we went.

~0~

We walked up the stairs of the apartment building until we came to my door. We were standing with the door to my left and his right.

"So, will I see you tomorrow?" He asked. I bit my lip with a smile before giving a slow nod.

"We'll see" I shrug. He smirked before nodding. I looked up at him for a moment before he let out a breath.

"I'm sorry I can't help it" He started before pulling me closer. I laughed before he gently wrapped his arms around me before kissing me. I lifted my arms and draped them over his shoulders. I couldn't help but smile.

Suddenly I heard my door open.

"Oh! - hello" We quickly pulled apart and I saw Lara with the biggest freaking smile on her face that I had ever seen. "Wow, hey you two" She smiled; leaning against the door. I looked down with an amused sigh and Steve laughed a bit.

"Can you give us a minute Lara?" I asked with a smirk.

"Oh! Of course" She smirked before going back inside and closing the door. I looked back up at him.

"Ok, where were we?" I asked with a smile. He laughed before pulling me into a hug.

"How about a walk tomorrow?" He asked.

"Sure" I smiled before we pulled out of the hug. I pecked him quickly on the lips before smiling.

"Alright, bye" I smiled.

"Bye Nik" He smiled before walking down the hall. I watched him leave before quickly going into my apartment. I closed the door behind me and leaned my back against it.

Lara was sitting on the couch with an 'I told you so' look.

"Ok, so maybe we moved a bit faster than I originally intended" I sigh. She laughs.

"Oh I think you went a bit farther than that" She says.

"Maybe a bit, but he was comfortable with it, so that made me feel a bit better" I shrug; trying to hide a smile before I bit my lip; walking into the living room.

"How was it?" She asked. I had to smile.

"It was amazing" I breathed; letting myself fall onto the couch. "He took me out of the city and to the forest shore off the mainland and we watched the sun setting over New York City, with the Statue of Liberty- we then proceeded to try and make shapes out of the stars in the sky..." I trailed off. "He bought a small pack and had some cheeses, meats, bread and he even managed to bring a bottle of wine" I lifted my head to look at her. She smiled.

"Romantic" She sighed.

"I'll admit he's definitely got good taste" I smile. She nodded slowly.

"I was actually asking how it was to kiss Captain America, but I'm glad to know how dinner was!" She smiled cheerfully. I dropped the smile and rolled my eyes before looking at the clock.

"Alright, I'm gonna go to bed" I sigh and get up.

"Alright" She chuckled. "Let me know if you have any good dreams about you know who-"

"Shut up" I laughed before closing my bedroom door.

 **Please review! :)**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

 **Next chapter for you everyone! I'm starting to catch up with all my stories, sorry for the lag. Hope you enjoy this! XD**

The next few weeks go great. Steve and I have gone on a few more dinner dates and to be honest, I've never been happier in my life. He really makes me feel whole. And I know people say that a lot, but he seriously makes me feel like I'm more than just a cold and deadly assassin.

We've also gone on some morning walks. He usually would run a lap around me before we continued to walk. Of course he found that very amusing; running circles around me. We also had lunch a few times here and there and I also did a little catching up on 21st century stuff with him.

I still don't understand this. He seriously calls and asks to spend time with me whenever he has spare time off from a mission. I'm a killer yet he doesn't seem to remember or notice that.

My ears perked slightly as my phone started ringing. Putting one more grape into my mouth I hopped up from the couch and walked over to the phone.

"Hello?" I started.

" _Hey Nichole_ " It was Natasha.

"Hey" I start; feeling myself smile. "What's up?"

" _Nothing really, just checking in. How you doing?_ " I knew this was about what happened with the alley and all that crap.

"Fine, stab wound still giving me a little trouble but to be honest my leg is pretty much healed" I smile to myself.

" _Well that's good_ " She sounded tired; but like she was trying to hide it just barely. She was quiet for a moment and it got me thinking to what she had really called about.

"Alright, spill what did you call about Nat" I smirk. She sighed before replying.

" _Well last night during dinner we happened to be talking about you -all good things don't worry- and Steve seemed to stumble over his words quite a bit_ " She said. Oh no. I swallowed before chuckling.

"What'd you mean? We're friends an all but I'm not understanding what you're getting at"

" _Something's up between you two Nik I can see it_ " I could hear the amusement in her voice. I bit my lip but didn't back down from my argument.

"Natasha, nothing is going on ok?" I said in a friendly but serious manner. "Just let it go, the man's from the 40's for cryin out loud. He stumbles over his words when people talk about any girl" I tell her. Sorry Steve.

" _Ok ok_ " She laughed. " _I'll back off_ " She smirked. I rolled my eyes. She'll never give this up I can see it now. " _Alright, bye Nik_ "

"See ya Nat" I reply before hanging up. I sighed before looking around my apartment. This-... Not good.

~0~

Only an hour later did I get a knock on my door and quickly got up to get it. Opening it I smiled when I saw Steve.

"Hey" I spoke up before opening the door farther. He smiled and walked in. "So I got a call from Natasha" I start as he walked in and turned to me.

"What about?" He asked slowly. I could tell he was hiding his nervousness.

"Apparently there was talk about me and Natasha seems to think that someone fumbled over their words too much" I say; raising an eyebrow at him. He gave me a guilty look before walking up to me.

"I'm sorry you know I'm a terrible liar"

"At least you're honest" I smile before lightly kissing him.

"What else did she say?" He asked as I walked into the kitchen.

"She thinks something is up between us" I sigh; giving him a smirk over my shoulder.

"Of course she does" He replies. I cracked a smile before looking over at him.

"Hey, I got the movies down there if you wanna look at them" I smiled. He nodded before walking over. I was catching him up on some of my favorite movies.

"What's this?" I heard him ask. I turned around seconds later to see him holding up Jurassic Park.

"Pretty much one of my favorite trilogies of all time" I laugh; walking over.

"I guess we have a winner then" He smirked. I smiled and took the trilogy case from him before taking out the disc for the first movie.

~0~

Around 2 hours later we had just started the second in the trilogy; The Lost World and I could see him dosing off slightly. I don't blame him since he had just gotten back from a mission before he came over. I was sitting next to him and at some point he had wrapped an arm around me.

"Wanna finish this another time?" I asked. He shook his head.

"No that means I have to leave" He mumbled before cracking a smile. I laughed before heading the lock on the door jiggle.

"Damn it- that's Lara" I mutter. He then woke up more and looked over at me.

"Then that's my cue" He laughed. I couldn't help but chuckle. We both knew Lara would try and sneak attack us by taking pictures. I thought she was joking before-... I was really wrong.

He quickly got up and grabbed his coat while I turned the TV off and casually stood by the table while Steve was standing in the half point between the living room and the kitchen.

The door opened and Lara walked in; smiling once she saw the two of us standing there.

"Hey you two" She gave a friendly smile. Oh god...

"Hey Lara" I sigh and give her a quick look as if to say 'take one God damn picture and you'll regret it'.

"Alright, I'm gonna go" Steve turned to me with a smile. I held back a laugh at his tone of voice. He was trying to stay happy, but I could tell he was a bit disappointed but he also wanted to give me some time to myself today.

"Ok" I smiled as Lara walked past me and into her bedroom. I quickly turned to see if she was out of view before giving him a quick kiss before he walked toward the door.

"Bye" I whispered before he gave me a smile and left.

"How many times have you seen this man?" Lara laughed. I rolled my eyes and turned to see her in her doorway to her room.

"Dude, I'm dating him now I'm gonna see him a lot" I laugh.

"How long has it been now?" She asked. I think for a moment.

"About a month since he asked me out" I reply. She smiles and nods.

"Sounds nice" She laughs. I nod. Yep, best month in my life. I'm gonna go ahead and say that. I literally can't stop thinking about him half the time.

"Alright, I'm getting ready for bed" She yawns.

"Night" I call over; still leaning against the door.

"Night" She mumbles over her shoulder before going into her room and closing the door.

~0~

The next day Lara finds a mission for me. I was ready in minutes and out the door.

I was about to go track down this gang. Unfortunately it's pretty much a rape group. Several rape crimes from most of them but they mainly focus on robbing and breaking and entering crap.

I was walking down a small alley when I came across the open truck dock.

"All the way" I heard someone call. There was a truck coming in. I hid behind one of the dumpsters and after a few minutes they parked the truck and went inside. I took that as a cue and walked over before getting up onto the platform; walking over to the back of the truck. I walked inside and my eyebrows shot up. They were smuggling drugs. Goody me, just one other thing I get to stop. I smirk to myself before heading for the door to the building.

~0~

After surveilling the area for a bit I located the targets. Taking a deep breath I pulled my gun out and jumped from my spot.

"What the-?!" One of the men yelled before I fired. I got the first man with a head shot and I quick shot down the other four. I was about to reload my gun when the opposite door burst open and several people ran out. I raised my gun but quickly dropped it when I realized it was SHIELD. Damn it, Fury's gonna kill me.

"Hands up! /Get on the ground!" They were all yelling. I was about to do just that when someone else walked through the door.

"It's ok she's with us" Steve yelled over. I tried to hide my smile when he walked over and gave me a hand. Once I was up I could see a big smile on his face.

"Nice seeing you again" he says. I smile when the other agents started locking down the perimeter.

"I swear I'm not stalking you or something, Lara gives me all the wrong missions" I laugh. He smirks before an agent walked over.

"All clear sir" He said. Steve gave a nod before I looked over and saw a SHIELD truck pulling up to the truck dock. All the agents walked towards it; leaving us inside.

"Alright, I should probably run before Fury knows about this" I sigh. He nods and I give a nod back before turning.

"Wait-" He cleared his throat. I turned quickly and he gave me a quick kiss.

"Will I see you later?" He asked. I nod.

"Why wouldn't you?" I chuckled. He smiled and nodded before I walked for the door.

~0~

"Lara!" I yelled as I walked into my apartment. She walked out of her room in a bathrobe seconds later with slippers.

"Hm?" She asked; a toothbrush in her mouth.

"Guess who I ran into on the mission" I snapped. Ok I'm kinda pissed. At some point Fury will start getting on my case.

"Dude, I swear this time I didn't know" She says; getting serious. "But hey, what's so bad about seeing your boyfriend?" She shrugged.

"Because my boyfriend's boss will kick my ass!" I reply almost cracking a smile. She laughs before walking back into her room.

~0~

About two hours later I was reading my book in my armchair. Lara ran out to the store to get some stuff to restock the fridge. I flipped the page when I heard a knock at the door. I put it down before getting up and walking over. I quietly grabbed my gun from the shelf before slowly opening the door.

"Oh, hey" I smile; seeing Steve.

"Surprise" He smirks before I let him in.

"Long time no see" I smirk. "Come to finish the Jurassic Park trilogy?" I asked with a laugh.

"Yes and no" He replies with a chuckle. "Later tonight Tony wanted me to ask you if you wanted to join us for dinner at the Tower. It's just plain and simple; we're ordering pizza" He says. I nod.

"Sure, sounds fun" I nod. He then walked over to me and I had to smile as I looked up at him.

"Now about that movie trilogy" He chuckled. I laughed before nodding.

"Already in the Blue Ray player" I smile before turning to walk over. He stopped me briefly and I turned back to him before he gave me a quick kiss.

"Alright, I'm ready" He announced before walking over with me. I rolled my eyes before grabbing the remote; sitting down on the couch next to him.

~0~

A couple hours later we finished the movies and I looked up at him as I was laying in the nook of his arm on his right.

"What'd ya think?" I asked.

"Incredible" He smirked before I kissed him. He lifted his hand up before lightly cupping my left cheek.

"We aren't you two just some love birds on a couch" we quickly pulled apart and I furrowed my eyebrows when I saw Lara standing in her bedroom doorway in her pajamas.

"What the hell?! When did you get in?" I asked in shock. She shrugged.

"Little bit after you started Jurassic Park III." She says. "You two are so cute when you kiss" She smiles; leaning against the doorway. I swallowed and could feel myself getting a big red in the face before I looked over at Steve who looked so freaking amused right now; he was trying so hard not to laugh. "Alright, catch you guys later" She smiled before walking into her room and closing the door.

"I am so sorry about her" I deadpan as I looked at him. "She's definitely opened minded" I add. He chuckles.

"Perfectly fine" He says. I could hear the amusement in his voice. "See you later tonight right?" He added.

"Yep" I smile. "7:30 right?" I asked. He nodded. I looked over at the clock; seeing it was about 5pm now.

I turned back to him before seeing the way he was looking at me.

"What is it now" I ask playfully. I hesitated before speaking up.

"You're gorgeous" He says simply. I blushed a bit and looked away for a moment. I'm not used to getting complimented like this ok?

"Well thank you, I-"

"Nik do you know where my laptop is?" I heard Lara call. I looked over at him and he nodded before we stood up.

"See you tonight" He smiled. I nodded as I opened the door for him. He was about to walk out when he pulled me a bit closer to him and I laughed a bit before he kissed me again. Wow- people, this man is a good kisser. I know people say stuff like that all the time but, just- damn.

He smiled at me after before I bit my lip and smiled.

"Alright, go" I laugh before pushing him out my door. He rolled his eyes and smirked before leaving. I closed the door behind him and looked around my apartment.

"Lara, your laptop's on the armchair" I tell her.

"Thanks" She calls. I rolled my eyes before going towards my room to get ready.

 **Next chapter will be up very, very soon people! XD By the end of the day!**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

 **Hey everyone! :) Enjoy! This is the second chapter of the day! So if you didn't read chapter 19 PLEASE go back and read it because this won't make sense without it. :D**

 **Otherwise enjoy the chapter**

I finally got to the Tower an hour or two later and walked out of the elevator wearing some dark blue skinny jeans, a red leather jacket and some brown laced up boots that stopped just below the knee.

"There she is" Pepper smiled.

"About damn time" Clint yelled over with a smirk. I rolled my eyes before walking over. I briefly glanced at Steve and we exchanged a smile before I sat down on the couch.

"Nik" I looked over at Natasha who handed me a plate. "Choose" She smirked and gestured to the 4 different boxes. I laughed before nodding. I ended up with two slices of Hawaiian pizza.

"As I was saying, Fury wants us leaving tomorrow before 4am" Clint says; looking up at Natasha and then Steve. They both nod and I just took a bite of pizza. "So Nik, we heard you got mixed up in a SHIELD mission today" Clint smirks. I stopped what I was doing and so did Steve. We exchange a very small glance that no one seemed to notice.

"Oh uh, yeah. Got my information mixed up" I smirk; putting my pizza a down. "What else did you hear?" I asked slowly. They all hesitated and Clint furrowed his eyebrows.

"Nothing really" He shrugs. I felt myself relax and I nodded.

"So Fury's having us gone for the next month?" Steve asked. I was about to pick up my pizza when I stopped and looked up.

"Yeah we should be back by the end of the month" Natasha says. I looked at her and over at Steve. He gave me a look and it wasn't a happy; not mad or anything, just not happy.

He's going to be gone for a month? What the hell; just when I say I had one of the best months of my life; we have to go and give me the opposite.

I finally took a bite of pizza and looked down at my plate.

~0~

After dinner everyone spread out a bit. Clint, Tony, Bruce, and Thor were watching a soccer game on TV and Natasha and Pepper were talking on the couches with everyone as the game went on.

I got up to get a cup of water. I walked over to the fridge and saw the dispenser and looked around for cups. I heard a cabinet door close and I turned to see Steve handing me a cup.

"Thank you" I give a quick smile before turning.

"You ok?" He asked. I shrug as I put a bit of ice in my cup.

"Yeah fine" I then put water in it. I could see him looking around before he looked back at everyone else.

"I wanna show you something" He finally says. I turn and raise an eyebrow. "Don't worry you'll like it" He laughs a bit. I looked over; seeing everyone else busy and not noticing us.

"Alright" I reply slowly. He grabbed my hand and we walked for the elevator.

~0~

About a minute later we came out and I looked around before we walked down a small hall and too a huge room.

"Wow" I breathed when we walked out. He nods.

"My reaction" He smirks. I laugh and look around. It was a huge gym; equipped with training courses, mats for sparring and combat training, punching bags, catwalks above, and all sorts of training supplies.

"This is incredible" I say; walking in and looking around. "Thanks for showing me this" I smiled at him.

"Maybe when I'm gone you'd consider hanging around here" He says. I felt my smile fade slightly but I kept smiling. "Its facial recognition so Jarvis won't mind letting you in" He smiled. "Right Jarvis?" He called.

"Miss Woods does indeed have access to the Tower and Gym" A voice replied. I rolled my eyes. I knew about Jarvis. Tony mentioned him a few times.

I nodded to myself before looking around it again.

"You're not ok" He says. I turn slightly; seeing him with his hands dug in his pockets as he was smirking at me. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What are you talking about" I laughed. "I'm fine-"

"You're disappointed" He corrects before I could finish. I looked at the ground and then back up at him with a smirk.

"So what if I am?" I shrug.

"I'll only be gone a month, I know it seems like a long time but it'll fly by for you" He says; walking over to me.

"And it won't for you?" I raise an eyebrow. "And are you just guessing this is what I'm disappointed about"

"I saw that face you made when we started talking about it" He says back.

"Oh you caught that did you?" I sigh; looking down.

"I'm gonna miss you" He says before taking a few steps closer. "It's the perfect reason for this" He adds in a chipper voice before lifting my chin gently and I rolled my eyes with a smile before he kissed me. He drops the hand and cups my face in his hands.

I really just realize how much I'm gonna miss him. I mean, I usually leave the house for a mission or to spend time with him. I'm just realizing how much of my time really revolves around him. I know i shouldn't be basing my emotional attachments around him but i can't help it. While he's gone i'll have to work on getting back into my lone wolf stand point.

"You guys down here?" We both quickly parted and took a step back from each other and I looked over in time to see Natasha walk in. "There you are" She smirked. "We've been looking for you" She adds.

"Oh" I smile and chuckle before exchanging a glance with Steve. We walked over and followed her back up to the communal floor.

~0~

We followed Natasha back over to the couches and sat down. Clint was glaring.

"What is it?" I asked slowly; taking a sip of my water.

"You couldn't have waited another day?" He grumbled. I furrowed my eyebrows and exchanged a glance with Steve.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"You cost me $30, Woods" He added.

"Ok what are you talking about?" I asked.

"You know what I'm talking about" He says back. I saw Steve glance at Natasha before looking at Clint.

"Were you seriously betting on-?"

"It was Tony's doing, he started it" Clint cut him off in a childish manner.

"Who cares who started it; what the hell is this about"

"They were betting on whether or not you two were together" Natasha says to me and she leaned over the couch and grabbed the plate next to me before walking into the kitchen. "And if we proved the theory before this mission we're leaving for tomorrow then Clint owed Tony money" She adds.

I stopped and looked over at the two of them before exchanging a glance with Steve.

"Thanks Nik for the cash" Tony smirks. I rolled my eyes.

"How could you even prove that hypothesis" I add. "It's not like you guys-"

"Natasha followed you guys down to the gym, simple as that" Clint shrugs. I huff.

"Just because we kissed doesn't mean anything" Steve says before walking into the kitchen. I laughed before looking over at him. "Sorry" He whispered. I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, I'm gonna head back" I look over at Pepper.

"Thank you for inviting me, I had fun" I smiled.

"Anytime Nichole" She smiled. "You welcome to come whenever, and that means coming to the gym whenever you'd like to train too" She adds. I nod and smirk before walking for the door.

"Cap's giving you a ride" Clint yells over. I rolled my eyes and Steve met me at the door.

"Have fun old timers" Natasha smirked. I huffed and rolled my eyes. Damn, not aging makes you vulnerable to some annoying nicknames.

"Oh ha ha" I laugh sarcastically. This is great. That's not going away anytime soon.

We got into the elevator and it went down.

~0~

We get back to my apartment and stop at the door.

"So you're leaving tomorrow?" I look up at him. He hesitates before nodding.

"Yeah" He says quietly. I nod to myself before looking at my door. I turned to open it but instead I turned back around and kissed him. He barely hesitated to wrap his arms around me and I put my hands on his shoulders before moving them up behind his neck.

Christ I'm going to miss him. Like- really miss him.

I stepped away from him a few seconds later and he smiled.

"I'll miss you" He says. I smile and nod before turning to open my door. I went inside and closed it slightly; sticking my head out.

"Alright bye" I smiled.

"See you in a few weeks" He replies. "You better visit the tower at least once a week" He adds; backing up down the hall. I rolled my eyes with a smirk.

"I will" I sigh. He nods and smiles.

"Bye Nik" He smiled. I nodded and he gave me a smirk before walking down the hall. I was about to say i would miss him to but something stopped me. That other side of me that's closed off from expressing my emotions was preventing it. I waited til he was out of sight and then I closed the door.

I turned and put my back to the door and let myself slide down til I was sitting on the floor against it. I leaned my head back and took a deep breath.

"What the long face?" I looked over and saw Lara sitting on the couch.

"Steve's leaving for a month on a mission" I shrug. She frowns.

"That's not cool" She says. "Don't worry; he'll be back before you know it" She smirks.

"I know" I sigh. "I'm going to bed" I add. She nods.

"Alright, night" She gives me a reassuring smile.

"Night" I say quietly before walking towards my room.

~0~

I shifted a bit as I was dosing. I felt something on my upper arm as I was sleeping on my side and I took in a deep breath before turning over slightly; opening my eyes a crack before closing them.

"Guess who" I heard a familiar voice. My eyes shot open and I was about to act. Pulling a gun from under my pillow I stopped when I looked up seeing Steve.

"What the-?!" I sat up and started laughing. He was sitting on the edge of my bed. "How the hell did you get into my room?" I whispered. "Scratch that how'd you get in my apartment" I add.

"I let him in, no need to whisper" Lara poked her head into my room. I rolled my eyes before sitting up. She disappeared back into the living room right after.

I looked over at him and saw he was in his suit: the shield was sitting against the bed in the floor and he didn't have his helmet or gloves with him.

"You have a gun under your pillow" He laughs. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"You seriously came all the way over here" I deadpanned before cracking a smile.

"Yeah, I did" He says. "I wanted to give you this too" He says before handing me a rose. I smiled before taking it.

"Thank you" I respond quietly; breathing in the sweet scent. I really loved this smell. "So where's the mission?" I asked; gently placing the rose on my night table.

"South Africa" He responds. I nod; glancing out the window seeing it was still very dark. "I needed to see you one more time before I left" He adds; looking a bit nervous. I laughed. "Hope that's not too weird or anything" He adds. I could tell he was a tad bit embarrassed.

"No not weird at all, I'm actually glad you came" I respond; resting my head on his shoulder. He smiled and nodded. He grabbed my hand and held it. I closed my eyes and let out a breath. Damn it, he's making me miss him even more.

I suddenly heard a beeping and he lifted his hand that was still holding mine; with the wrist com link.

"Cap, departure is in like 20 minutes where are you?" That was Clint.

"Be there in a few Barton" He says and the line cut. He let his hand drop again and I sighed.

"Time for you to go" I smirk before standing up. He frowns slightly before cracking a smile. He stood up and I had to look up at him. I'm like- almost a head shorter than him. He picked up his shield too.

"I'll call" He says. I nod and smile as we walked into the main room.

"Make sure to get on Clint's nerves for me" I spoke up. He laughs and nods as I was about to open the door and he grabbed my hand before I could. I looked up into his eyes and he smirked. I could also see right through him. He was a bit down.

Before I could get out of my thoughts he stepped forward and put his shield down against the wall to my right. He stood back up straight and cupped my face before kissing me. And it wasn't a gentle quick kiss that we usually share. It was deeper, almost needy, although- he was still being gentle; he wasn't pushing or anything.

I finally found myself backing up til my back was to the door. He placed one hand against the door behind me and I found myself putting my hand through his smooth hair.

We pulled apart briefly and I took in a calm breath before looking at him for a moment. Not seconds later, I felt his lips on mine and I breathed out before feeling him shift a bit.

"Can I just take you with me" He breathed as he pulled out of the kiss. I laughed.

"I don't think Fury would be ok with that" I smirk.

"I don't care what he thinks" He responded with a shrug before kissing me again. I let my arms rest over his shoulders before he pulled me closer to him. I smiled before finally pulling out of the kiss.

"You're going to be late" I tell him. I look to the left before looking at me; raising an eyebrow as if to say '...and?' I laughed before turning. "Go on" I nod to the door before opening it. He sighs before picking up his shield that was leaning against the wall beside the door; walking out.

"I'll see you in a few weeks" He says. I nod and smile. He leans back into the room and quickly kisses me before stepping out into the hall. I gave him a small wave before he smiled and then walked down the hall.

I have to admit; seeing him walking down the hall of my apartment building in uniform is a bit strange. But it's not like I'm complaining; he came to visit before he left and that's the important part.

"Damn" I turned and saw Lara in the doorway of her room. I got a bit red in the face. "He's just-...Wow" She smiled. "You're so freaking lucky Nik" Lara adds.

"That's just weird dude" I laughed.

"I was seriously about to yell for you two to get a room" She says over her shoulder as she walked in to her room. I rolled my eyes before going back into my room; picking up the rose on my night table. I breathed in the sweet smell and smiled before gently placing it back down.

I got back in bed and pulled the covers up with me as i turned on my side. I closed my eyes briefly before opening them again; seeing the beautiful flower on my night stand before I finally closed my eyes and relaxed.

 **Hope you all liked the chapter :) Don't worry i'll be giving you sneak peaks into what Steve, Natasha, and Clint are doing when in South Africa and of course you'll see how Nichole's doing XD PLEASE REVIEW! :D Love hearing from you guys!**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

 **Wow I am so sorry everyone it's not even funny…. :( I am ashamed, I know it has been way too long since I updated. I had to edit some stuff for this chapter and got caught up with my other stories.**

I opened my eyes the next morning and the first thing I saw was the rose sitting on my nightstand. I sat up with a sigh as I looked around my room. I could hear cars honking and the daily city noises outside my window.

Lazily getting to my feet I stumbled into the living room; seeing Lara.

"Morning" I heard Lara from the couch. It was Saturday so she was off work.

"Mmph" I grumble as I went straight for the coffee machine. She laughed before looking over at me.

"Sleep good?"

"Not really" I give a sarcastic smile and grab a mug.

"Don't worry Nik, he'll be back before you know it" She sighed as she went back to her computer.

"That's not what's pissing me off" I mumble. The fact that Steve, Natasha, and Clint aren't around means I got no one to bail me out when I interfere with SHIELD business.

"SHIELD's gonna be on my case about staying out of their missions" I mumble.

"Dude, just join" Lara replies flatly. "You helped save the world with them"

"It's a lot of commitment, and-... I don't want people to start expecting any good from me..."

"What the hell dude" She laughs. "You are good" She says seriously.

"No Lara I'm not" I tell her with a laugh. "I don't have a clean slate like most of them do; they made up for their mistakes- if they made any in the first place. I can't change or… forget- so easily" I tell her. She was serious at the moment, I could tell by her face. But she didn't believe me. "When people see good, they expect good" I say. "Not that I was in the first place" I mumble with a roll of my eyes and put a hand through my hair.

Some of things I've done-… they're unspeakable. Most of the things I've done I told Lara about... But there are other things only I know about that I can barely talk about. Almost as if the orders came from the devil himself, they're unimaginable. Heartless. SHIELD doesn't need anyone like that.

I really am a killer. I am not cut out for this hero business. Working with a team and relying on one another. I don't want people to start thinking I'm reliable, cause I'm not.

"Steve sees good in you" She says in a hopeful manner.

"He sees the good in everyone... even when it's not there" I say and almost smile to myself. He's too good. He's done so much for this country and the world. He literally gave his life for it already. The fact that he asked me out makes it even worse. We're exact opposites. And the sad thing is-… he doesn't see it yet.

"Is that a bad thing?" She smiles and raises an eyebrow. I give a small shrug with a barely noticeable smile. She sighed before getting up. "I'm gonna go hit the gym" She says. I look over and nod. "You wanna come?"

"I gotta run to the store, we're low on milk" I sigh. She nods before running to her room.

~0~

A couple hours later I tossed the grocery bag on the counter and then put the milk in the fridge. My eyes shot over to the window as several cars honked before I rolled my eyes and let out a breath.

I looked around the apartment and thought for a moment.

Don't feel like missions at the moment but I wanna train.

My mind swept over to what Steve told me about using the gym at Stark Tower. I bit my lip and glanced at the phone.

Almost a minute went by before I realized I was holding the phone and had already dialed Pepper's number.

" _Hello?_ "

"Hey Pepper, it's Nichole" I spoke up; almost regretting the decision of calling.

" _Hey Nichole! How are you doing?_ " She asked. I look around briefly.

"Good, doing fine. Listen, I was wondering about that offer with the gym-?"

" _No problem, Jarvis will let you in. Just come whenever you want to_ " She said warmly. I smile and nod to myself.

"Ok, thank you Pepper"

" _No problem Nichole, have fun!_ " She chuckled before we both hung up. I grabbed my lucky pack on the counter before heading for the door again.

~0~

 **South Africa…**

Steve threw his shield at two men; watching it bounce of both before he ran forward and caught it; delivering a punch to the man that came up behind him.

Natasha was meters away; shooting her pistols at several surrounding men. While Clint was on the roof of the building next to them; picking off whoever was there as well.

"Nat, Cap you guys got incoming. A squad coming from the north side" Clint spoke over the com. Both Steve and Natasha turned to greet the squad of several men coming towards them.

Steve looked down before adjusting his shield on his arm and Natasha quickly reloaded her pistol before firing off several rounds; kneeling down behind a car.

"Clint, looks like they brought that tank" Natasha spoke up. Clint looked to the side; seeing a tank following the squad towards their location.

"Lucky me" He smirked before pulling another arrow from his quiver; aiming it at the tank. Seconds went by before he let the arrow loose and it flew through the air before hitting the tank; causing it to explode. "Oh- Yep. I'm good" He nodded to himself. Natasha smirked and shook her head with a roll of her eyes.

"You're full of yourself" She chuckled before quickly dodging a few bullets before quickly shooting back.

"Yeah but you still love me Nat" He shrugged from the rooftop. You could say they were 'dating' although they don't admit to it, everyone knows they're kinda a couple.

"You two- focus" Steve finally spoke up with a grunt as he jumped off a nearby car and hit one of the soldiers that came around the corner. "We have a mission finish" He told them.

"Don't get all grumpy on us Cap just because your girl isn't here" Clint told him as he shot an exploding arrow at a squad of soldiers.

"Wha- I am _not_ grumpy!" He made clear; snapping the neck of a guy with his shield before turning and punching another guy.

"Uh huh" Natasha grunted as she wrapped her legs around a nearby soldier and flipped; knocking him to the ground. "Be honest with yourself Steve" She smirked as she got to her feet. Steve merely rolled his eyes and threw his shield at the approaching soldiers; it hit three of them before he ran forward and caught it; hitting the last one before turning back. "So how wa-s it?" She asked him; dodging a bullet.

"How was- what" He asked as he punched another hostile before kicking another.

"The goodbye, how'd she take it" Natasha asked again; shooting down the last guy she saw. Steve glanced at her and looked around as it grew a bit quiet.

"Barton, last man to your right" He said into the com link.

"Got it Cap" Clint replied before Steve heard the whiz of the arrow and the guy fell out from behind a car. It grew quite once again and they all looked around; seeing no more hostiles. He took off his helmet and put a hand through his hair as it fell in the way of his eyes.

"She was alright" He replied before looking at her.

"You made out with her right?" Clint asked.

"Wha- Barton!" He scolded; looking behind him as Clint walked out of the building and over to where they were. "I didn't-... we- it was just uh-… " He stuttered before getting a bit red in the face.

"Oh yeah, it definitely went down like that" Clint laughed and patted him on the back as he walked by. "Don't worry, its ok" He chuckled as he walked in the other direction. Steve looked down before catching the look Natasha gave him. She smiled before following Clint.

He sighed and blinked several times before looking around and quickly jogged over to catch up with them.

~0~

I adjusted my lucky pack on my back as I walked up the door to Stark Tower. I slowly walked in and looked around for anyone. There wasn't.

" _Welcome back Ms. Woods. It is good to see you here again_ " I heard Jarvis speak up.

"Hey Jarvis" I say a bit awkwardly. "Uh, may I enter the gym?" I asked.

" _Of course, Miss Potts has given you access to the Tower and Gym. Mr. Stark is currently in the lab_ "

She gave me access to the whole tower? Wow. A lot of trust there. I would never trust myself access to this place.

"Thanks" I replied; still a little confused before walking into the elevator. I looked at the panel on the wall and found the gym. I remember Steve pushing the floor number when he showed me the gym the last night.

The door closed and I waited patiently as it went down. Soon the door opened back up and I walked out. I walked down the small hall that we did last night before walking into the gym. I sighed as I looked around.

This was the best training gym I had ever seen. It pretty much had everything. Sighing I walked over to where the training mats and a few punching bags were. I tossed my pack down before grabbing some wraps from it.

I sat down and began to wrap up my hands slowly; looking around the room. It was quiet; the only sounds heard were me tightening the wraps around my hands and my breathing.

About a minute later I finished and walked over to the bag before throwing a couple punches.

I don't know what it was but I always threw a better punch when it was at someone. I wasn't as good at punching the bag as I was people. When trained I only fought people, there were no practice bags we used. I punched real people until my knuckles bled and their face was bleeding. I know, it made me sick at first but now I couldn't care less.

You could say standard human emotion is something I'm lacking these days.

~0~

About an hour later I started finishing up as I walked into the elevator.

A spent a while at the bags before doing a few simple exercises that I usually practiced for missions.

I was about to push the lobby button when I stopped. A part of me wants to thank Pepper for letting me borrow the gym but Jarvis told me she isn't here. I guess I could tell Tony though. Jarvis said he was in the lab.

"Jarvis what level is Mr. Stark on, I'd like to thank him for letting me borrow the gym" I spoke up.

" _Of course, I can take you there now_ "

"Thank you" I replied quietly as the elevator started moving up.

Seconds later it opened and I walked out before seeing Tony at a work table. My eyes trailed around at the lab and I mouthed a wow. This was pretty high tech. But I wouldn't expect any less from him.

I knocked against the wall as I adjusted my lucky pack on my back. He looked over through goggles.

"Hey Woods" He spoke up; taking his goggles off his face. "How was the gym?" He asked. I nod as I took a few steps in.

"Was pretty relaxing actually- it relieved some tension. Thanks for letting me borrow it" He replied; looking around.

"No problem, you can come and use it whenever. There's no need to call" I nodded in reply.

"Oh, Cap called this morning" Tony spoke up. I looked over at him with somewhat plain face. I don't show a lot of emotion, but that's probably pretty known. "Was wondering how you were doing. The connection in South Africa wasn't going through to your phone" He says before walking over. "Figured you'd want that" He handed me a phone of some sort.

"What's this for?" I asked hesitantly.

"So he can call you. Figured you'd want to talk to him so I enhanced the connection so you should have a few good minutes every call before the connection starts breaking up a bit. There in an isolated area right now" He explained.

"Oh-... Thank you" I was a bit surprised as I put the phone into my pack. Not seconds later it started ringing and I jumped a bit.

"Speak of the devil" Tony muttered. I rolled my eyes before pulling it back out and went for the door.

"Thanks Tony" I called back. I barely saw the nod as he went back to work before I walked into the elevator and pushed the lobby button; answering the phone.

"Hello?" I spoke up; my voice a bit hesitant.

" _Nichole?_ "

"That's me" I smirked.

" _Hey, I Uh- I tried to call you this morning but the connection kept cutting out and-_ "

"I know, Tony told me and gave me this phone"

" _So you were at the Tower?_ " He asked. I smiled and nodded to myself.

"Still am actually. In the elevator heading for the lobby" I reply with some amusement in my voice. "How's South Africa?"

" _Uh, it's alright. It could be better_ " He chuckled.

" _He misses you!_ " I suddenly heard someone else's voice and furrowed my eyebrows.

" _Clint-!_ " I heard Steve's muffled voice through the phone and a crash as I started chuckling. " _Sorry about that_ " He spoke up quickly seconds later, his voice no longer muffled.

"That's fine, I take it everyone's being quite the joy" I laugh.

" _You could say that_ " He replied and I heard more muffled voices from Natasha and Clint in the background. I walked out the door and started down the sidewalk. " _So how's it going with you?_ " He asked.

"What like so much has happened in the last twelve hours that Lara let you into my apartment?" I laughed.

" _You never know_ " He chuckled. I sigh as I kept walking and frowned slightly.

"Well... I bought milk" I state. "That's about all" I sum up.

" _I'm sure by the time I call again something more exciting will have happened_ " He replied. I shrug.

"One can only hope" I smile to myself. "Alright, I'll talk to you later I guess" I spoke up.

" _Ok, I'll call you before the weeks over. Maybe Thursday_ " I nod.

"I may or may not be gone. Lara has a couple missions for me"

" _Alright... Be careful_ " He added quickly at the end. I rolled my eyes.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" I laughed. "Wishing my soldier good luck as he goes off to fight a war on another continent" I sigh dramatically. I could hear him laughing just barely.

" _Yeah well I'm allowed to worry too_ " He argues.

"Fine, worry all you want" I chuckle. "Ok I got to go, see you next month" I try to say happily.

" _Bye Nichole_ " I smiled to myself.

"Bye" I respond before ending the call with a sigh. I quickly shook my head before walking faster back towards the apartment.

 **Hope that was ok :) Please review! And I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible! I will try very very hard I know I say that a lot. It won't be another several month waiting process! :(**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

 **Sorry, sorry, sorry! D: I can come up with 100 excuses as to why it took so long but I won't get into that. I wanted to put this up before Christmas so this is an early Christmas present to you all :) The next time I update this story will be after Christmas, so Merry Christmas to you all! :) Please enjoy the chapter**

"Here" I turned and saw Lara holding out a file. I quickly took it and looked it over. "I'm not happy with it but it's all I could find" She sighed. "Too dangerous for my liking"

My eyes trailed over the information and I nodded to myself.

"This'll do" I tell her. It was an undercover mission. I'd have to get a disguise for this fancy party. "Got a dress I can borrow?" I asked. She nodded before walking into her room. I sighed and placed the file on the table before following her.

"It starts in a couple hours so you gotta hurry" She was in her closet as I was standing in the middle of the room. "There will be a small window to get in and out to take him down" I nodded and she walked out a few seconds later with a red dress.

"This one should do, it's really you" She smiled; holding it in front of me. "You should definitely wear this when you go out with Steve sometime" I roll my eyes and take it before going into the bathroom.

It had been about two weeks since Steve, Natasha, and Clint left. Steve literally called almost every day; I tried not to call him because I didn't want to catch him in a bad time. I was usually around when he called so I normally got in a nice conversation with him daily.

I came out a few minutes later and after doing my hair and doing some simple make up i walked into my room and got my gun; loading it.

"Wow" I heard Lara laughing from the door. I looked over at her.

"Hm" I mumbled; finishing loading it and strapped into my leg under my dress.

"That's Uh-..." She covered her mouth; hiding a laugh.

"What?" I asked; started to laugh, not seeing anything wrong with what I was doing. "Preparation" I state. "It's necessary"

"Uh huh" She laughs before walking out of the room. I rolled my eyes and slid a small knife up the sleeve of my arm that stopped right below my elbow.

~0~

It was quiet as I walked into the building. This was quite the party. Several games were going on, some pool games too but most were gambling and such.

There were some men playing some quiet music in the corner of the room near the eating area and the music relaxed me a bit. I was anxious bad right now. Usually missions like these require some… persuasion in order to get the job done. I just hope I don't blow my cover or do something stupid to screw this all up. What I'm after is kinda important so if they get away with it god only knows what might happen.

I walked around and my eyes landed on a group of men at a private game area. I pursed my lips in frustration before walking around some more.

"Martini my lady?" I turned to see a waiter holding out the beverage.

"Oh, yes thank you" I smiled and took it before sipping it and walked closer every now and then to the table. I made a face every now and then. Yes, Martinis, wine- fancy drinks like that every now and then is alright, but I am _SO_ a beer kinda girl.

My eyes darted to the side when I saw the group of men and my target stand and start to walk for the door. Ok there's my chance.

I walked up and in front of them as the stopped and his two body guards stood in front of him.

"Oh, I'm sorry" I started before looking back at the man I would be killing soon. "Mr. Hart I would like to talk with you about your latest shipment" I smiled; my finger trailing around the top of the drink glass. I know it's a bit, I don't want to say seductive to trail my finger along the top of the glass but my hands feel the need to do something when I'm anxious.

He had dark hair and a stubble beard with piercing icy blue eyes. He was handsome I'm not gonna lie, but that means nothing to me. Never has. It's part of the job to deal with anyone; no matter their appearance or attitude.

He looked to the side at his guards and whispered something to them and I saw them stand a bit straighter and I stiffened just barely; getting on edge.

"Of course" He turned with a smile. I quickly smiled back before he gestured to a door to my left and I walked over. He opened it and I walked in. The room was an office; his office which was strange. His name was on the desk at the front of the room. Two widows were to my left and curtains covered them; only light from two small lamps on either side of the desk on the back wall. I turned just barely and saw him close and lock the door behind us. I lifted my chin and swallowed just barely as I looked back around the room.

"What would you like to discuss" He turned to me. I turned with a smile; still holding my drink in both hands

"I know you recently brought a shipment into this country containing a serious piece weaponry" I raise an eyebrow with a hint of interest; flashing a smile before placing my drink down on the desk. He looked a bit serious from there.

"I know some people with heavy pockets that would love to buy it from you" I smile; taking a few steps closer to him. Draw him in just enough to break him; catch him in his weakest and most distracted moment. Finish the job with a killing blow. That's how it's done.

He raised an eyebrow as I took a step to the right; coming up on his left side.

"I'm sorry miss but I already have buyers in mind" He says. I give a bit of a disappointed face; looking down before sighing.

"I can assure you my buyers are willing to pay more than these people you have in mind" I say; taking a few steps closer to him. He gave me a bit of a look and nodded slowly.

"This is a private sale, Ms..."

"My name is Samantha" I tell him with a smile. He hesitated to say anything for a moment.

"So" I sighed; letting my hand slide down and rest on his chest before I looked up at him. "Is there any way we can change that to an open, sale?" I ask; biting my lip.

"I don't know..." He trailed off and I felt a hand wrap around my waist and pull my closer against him. "What did you have in mind?" He asked; looked down at me. I smiled and my eyes shifted down for a split second and for a moment I thought of Steve. What I was doing felt wrong, but I know it's just work. It doesn't mean anything emotionally.

"Well, there are a few things actually" I breathed before gently nipping at his bottom lip. That's when he made the move and kissed me more aggressively. I found my hands grabbing his tie and pulling him in for another kiss before he had both hands firmly on my hips as he pushed me against the wall. I let out a small noise against his mouth at the force of being pushed but kept the pace going. He pinned my hands above my head with one as he kept his other firmly against my lower back; keeping me pressed up against him.

The smell of his cologne was strong and somewhat refreshing; rich and modern. My heart beat was pounding in my ears and I quickly pushed the little anxiety that I had aside as I moaned slightly against his mouth, feeling the slight vibration of my voice. I breathed out once I found a quick break before he was kissing me again and had his tongue in my mouth as I tried not to make a face.

Ok, I can have a serious make out session if need be when on a mission. But when a guy uses tongue? Dude, you only use it if you're good at it and right now I kinda wanted to gag.

I pulled my hands from his grip and gripped the collar of his suit when I felt him lift by leg against his when he stopped and looked down; seeing the gun strapped to my leg.

"What the hell" He growled before looking at me; but I was already smirking as I had gotten the knife up my sleeve and quickly slit his throat. He immediately backed off me and held his throat; coughing and gagging on the blood as it began to pool on the floor.

I pursed my lips and wiped them off with the back of my hand. Ugh, that felt so wrong on so many levels. God, having a boyfriend now makes this awkward.

I reached down and opened his jacket and retrieved his phone and ID card.

"Thank you" I smile before walking for the small window next to the desk. He was still choking on blood as I opened the window and slipped out before making my way onto the streets. Walking to the curb I called a taxi before quickly getting in and driving off.

~0~

I walked into the apartment and my target's phone and ID on the couch before I went straight for the bathroom. I somewhat slammed my gun down on the sink counter before I ran the water and put my hands in it; ending my face off and hands which were greatly stained with blood; turning the water a very dark red.

"Oh hey Nik you're back ear-" I immediately had my gun in my hand and pointed it at the door. "Just me!" She put her hands up. I blinked several times; breathing heavy with water still dripping from my face. I finally just dropped the gun back on the counter and rested my hands against the rim of the counter before looking down. "You ok?" She asked carefully before walking in.

"Yeah" I sigh; putting a hand through my hair before i wiped the lipstick off with the back of my hand and continued to wash my hands before i found myself wiping my face off again. "You seem a bit shaken up, what happened?" She asked. "I'll get you some tea; clean up and then come into the living room" She smiled at me in the mirror reflection before walking out. I gave her a small smile as she left.

I wouldn't make it without her to be honest. She doesn't get how much danger she's in when around me. Yet she chooses to stick around and help me out.

I dried my face off once all the make-up was off and after I used minty mouth wash several times, I got dressed into some baggy sweatpants and a spaghetti strap tank top.

I sat down on the couch minutes later and she handed me some tea.

"Alright, explain it all" She smiled; holding tea of her own. I held it in my hands before I pulled my legs up so I was sitting sideways.

"I just-..." I hesitate and take a bit of a shaky sip of my tea to calm the nerves. "This was so much easier when I didn't have a boyfriend" I admit. She gave a half smile before nodding slightly.

"You had to kiss him?" She said almost a bit flatly and playfully. I sigh with a tiny laugh and nod.

"And the fact is he was pretty damn good looking too" I finally laugh.

"Not as good looking as Captain America I hope" She smirks before cocking her head to the side a bit. I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"No not that good looking, or kind, respectful, sweet..." I trailed off; saying at least 10 more good traits about him as Lara just started at me as I did so.

"Damn you miss this guy a lot don't you" She states. I groan and fall back against the couch; still holding my tea.

"It's his fault for being so good" I mumble. "I can't do my job effectively anymore without thinking about him"

"Well Nik, you know you don't have to do this" She says hesitantly. I raise an eyebrow at her. "SHIELD could always use the help" She shrugs; giving me a smile. I look down briefly.

"I dunno, maybe I'll ask Steve about it when he gets back" My voice was pretty hesitant.

"Look at it this way, if you worked for SHIELD chances are that you won't have to do certain things like-... Well,"

"Like making out with my targets?" I asked flatly.

"Yes, exactly" She smiles. "I mean- you might, I dunno" I could see her shrug out of the corner of my eyes.

"Hm" I stared at the ceiling a bit longer.

"Hey, you up to watch the Doctor Who episode?" I laughed and looked over at her.

"Is this a question?"

She narrowed her eyes for a moment before looking ahead.

"Nah, you don't have a choice" She grinned and picked up the remote.

I sighed and adjusted the pillow under my head as I started to watch the show.

"Hey- do you hear that?" Lara looked at me. I furrowed my eyebrows and listened for a moment before I heard a faint ringing.

"Shit-!" I yelled and jumped from the couch and ran into my room. I jumped across my bed and scrambled for the phone and picked it up before answering it.

"H-hello?!" I somewhere shouted.

" _Oh- Uh, hi!_ " I heard Steve laugh in a bit of surprise.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to shout that" I let out a quick breath.

" _Don't worry about it_ " I could hear the amusement in his voice. It got quiet and I didn't know what to say. " _So... How've you been?_ " Steve cleared his throat.

"Um, ok. It's been good"

" _Any missions?_ " My eyes went around the room and I didn't know what to say.

"Uh-..." I let out a bit of a shaky breath.

What the hell, Nik. Snap out of it!

I'm never this bad. Usually I have no problem hiding my emotions but right now I can't seem to get a grip.

" _Is everything ok? You sound a little shaken up_ " His voice grew concerned.

"Oh-... Yeah yeah- everything's good" I say quickly before sitting down on my bed criss-cross.

" _Are_ _ **you**_ _ok?_ "

"Mm hm" I mumble. "Don't worry I'm fine, it's all good" I say quickly. "If something was wrong you'd be the first to know" I say happily before my smile dropped. Why is it when I lie to him I actually feel guilty?

" _Alright... You sure?_ " He asked hesitantly.

"Yeah Steve, I'm fine" I chuckle. "Everything ok with you?"

" _Yeah, we're all fine here. The missions going great so we may be back a few days earlier than expected_ " He sounded really happy about that, more than I thought he would.

"Great, that's good" I sigh in a bit of relief.

" _You sound really tired, so I'm gonna let you go ok?_ " He chuckled. I nod to myself and smile.

"Alright,"

" _Bye Nik_ " I could practically hear this smile. When he was happy you could tell be his voice.

"...Bye" I smile before I quickly pushed a button to end the call. I looked at the phone for a moment before I quickly put it down and walked back into the living room.

"Steve again?" Lara didn't look up from the TV.

"Yeah"

"What'd he say?" Her eyes met mine as I plopped back down on the couch and wrapped myself up in a fuzzy blanket and fell onto my side and rested my head on the pillow.

"Nothing, just checking- seeing if I was ok or whatever"

"It's cute that he worried so much" she chuckled. "Even when he's the one on a mission" She smiled as I closed my eyes, letting the background noise from the TV relax me.

"Hm, I guess" I mumbled. She didn't say anything else and I could tell she was focused on the show again as I opened my eyes.

Part of me wants him back here. I miss having him around but-... There's a big part of me that wants him to stay over there so that I can continue my job here without any distractions. What happened tonight is something that happens all the time. It was the first time I had to do something like that since I had started dating Steve. I just hope it won't be like that all the time and that I can either get over the fact that my missions have nothing to do with my personal life, and that Steve will finally realize that this is who I am.

I know he doesn't see it still. I don't understand what he sees when he looks at me. I feel relieved that he's not around to see what I actually am, because if he did then I might not want me in his life anymore.

He's the first person in a long time to give me a chance and I don't want to lose him too.

 **Hope you liked it, please view if you have some requests. I'm having a hint of writers block right now so any ideas would be so amazing right now! :)**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

 **Happy New Year everyone! I wanted to update this before the new year starts.**

It had been a few days since that little mission I had. No lies, it made me feel a little insecure with myself, although I had eased up about it somewhat.

Lara assured me that stuff like that is just part of the job, park of the process. She gave me lots of pep talks about it until I loathed the idea of thinking about it anymore.

I called Natasha too. I made sure to ask whether Steve was around or not and she confirmed he wasn't in the room. I somewhat spilled my guts about what happened and she seemed pretty calm about it.

She said that she's had to do the exact same things on some missions and Clint knows that. He doesn't judge her for it, or hold it against her. She tried to assure me that Steve would be absolutely understanding about it. I was still nervous though. She said I may not even have to tell him about it.

Although here I am now... calling Steve to rant about how awful I feel about this damn mission.

I was practically shaking as the phone was ringing and ringing. Eventually it picked up and I heard his voice through the phone. It took almost 10 seconds before I finally got ahold of myself.

"Hey, Steve" I say somewhat happily.

" _...What's up_ " He immediately asked. I furrowed my eyebrows at his abruptness.

"Uh, w-what?"

" _Your voice is shaking Nichole I can hear it through the phone. What's wrong, are you ok?_ " I could hear the concern in his voice as I bit my lip.

"I gotta tell you something, got a few minutes?"

" _Yeah, we just called in for the night so I got time_ " He sounded even more concerned now. I took a deep breath and let it out sharply. " _Hey Nik, you're Uh- you're kinda scaring me a bit. You sure you're ok?_ " He chuckled somewhat nervously.

"No it's fine, I'm good I just-... Need to tell you something"

" _Alright_ "

I took my time thinking out to word it for a moment before I just finally gave up trying.

"I don't know how to do this so I'm just gonna go ahead and say it, ok? So uh- you know how I have my own kinda missions I do?"

" _Yeah_ "

"And you know how I have been doing this most of my life and that I know nothing but 100% pretty much right?"

" _Yeah,_ "

"I Uh... Some of my missions require me to, do certain things..." I trail off and chew on my bottom lip for a moment. "And it's not that I like doing it. I wouldn't do this if I didn't have to but..." I cut myself off and couldn't figure out what to say for a moment and he was quiet too. I closed my eyes for several seconds and just let myself fall onto the couch.

"Sometimes my job requires me to get somewhat physical close to my targets. So I sometimes have to, uh..." I then realized what this might actually sound like to him. "N-Not that I'm intimate with any of them! No, not in a million years it's so much easier to just kill then and get it over with-"

" _...Nik I-_ "

"I know how this sounds, and I completely understand if you just wanna break up with me-"

" _Nichole I never sai-_ "

"But I'm just saying now that sometimes things like making out with my targets is something that commonly happens. And before I never had a boyfriend so it wasn't awkward and now that I do, it is and I felt so guilty afterwards-"

" _Nichole I don't want to break up with you_ " He cuts me off.

"Well-..." I was caught off guard for a moment. "Wait- really?"

" _Nik, I know your job is complicated at times. It's ok,_ " He seemed to not think of this as a big deal. " _Natasha-_ "

"Why are you bringing her up?" I stop him.

" _...Well..._ "

"She told you didn't she?" I state. Traitor.

" _Yeah, she told me right before you called what you were going to say. And I'm telling you the same thing she told you I would say. I am not holding you any of this against you, ok?_ " I could hear the friendliness in his voice. " _It's just part of the job right?_ "

I let out a breath that felt like I had been holding it in for days.

"Ok" I sighed. "...you're sure?"

" _Absolutely_ " He chuckled. I put a hand to my head before running a hand through my hair.

"Ok... Thanks for understanding" I say quietly.

" _Is that why you sounded so shaken up the other day?_ " He asked. I could hear the sadness in his voice now.

"It was" I admit.

" _Don't worry, ok? It's all good. I absolutely don't hold any of it against you ok?_ " He chuckled in a reassuring way. I bit my lip and nodded to myself.

"Thank you, Steve...-For understanding that is" I say quietly.

" _No problem, I'll call you tomorrow ok?_ " He sounded happy. I found myself smiling before I nod.

"Ok, see you then"

" _Bye_ " I was quiet for several seconds before saying bye back. My thumb slid over the phone and pressed the end button and I sat there in silence for a moment.

"Nik," my eyes shifted to the door as Lara popped her head in. "You ok?"

"Fine" I laugh and nod, looking back down at the phone as I held it in my lap.

"Was that Steve?"

"Mm hm"

"...Did you tell him about the mission?" She asked slowly. I look at her and nod. "How'd he take it?"

"He seemed a bit... I don't know" I mumble.

"Overall what was his word on the matter?" She rephrased.

"He basically said what you and Natasha told me" I laugh. "He was so sweet about it though" I smile to myself. "He said and I quote that he 'I absolutely don't hold any of it against you'" I smile and look at her.

"Lucky lucky lucky" She chuckles before walking back into the other room. I roll my eyes and toss the phone on the bed before I followed her into the living room.

"Remember, pizza and doctor who tomorrow night!" Lara laughed excitedly. I merely roll my eyes again before looking around.

"I think I'm gonna go to bed" I sigh.

"You haven't even eaten yet" She says back and I shrug.

"Eh, I'll probably eat something when I wake up at random in a few hours"

I catch her rolling her eyes as I walk back into my bedroom.

~0~

I quickly gathered my things before heading for the door.

"Are you sure you can't just wait for me to find something else?" I turned to see Lara looking at me with a nervous expression.

"Lara I wanna make sure I get at least one done before the week's over" I sigh and load my gun before putting it down the back of my jeans. "It'll be fine I got this completely under control"

It had been a few days since I told Steve about that mission. I haven't gotten a call from him since though. I was a little worried... Just a bit. I know he can take care of himself though.

"This isn't as easy are your other missions I give you. These people are everywhere. They'll find a way to get to you" I could tell she was worried.

"I got it, don't worry" I roll my eyes before opening the door.

"Be careful ok?" She finally sighed and chuckled.

"Always am" I grin.

"We're doing pizza and Doctor Who" She got excited again. "Be back soon cause you're not missing this episode"

"Don't worry I'll be back as soon as possible"

"Don't mess up" She says somewhat worried. I rolled my eyes.

"I won't, it's not like you're there with me" We exchanged a smirk before I head out the door.

It was late afternoon, about 4:30 when I got to my destination. A construction site that currently was labeled as abandoned. The half-finished building was missing some supports and wasn't exactly safe to walk around in. It was several stories tall and there weren't many finished windows.

I was wearing some dark blue skinny jeans with my combat boots that stopped below the knee and a grey sweatshirt. Pulling my hood over my head i cautiously walked inside before making my way towards the unfinished stairwell.

My foot steps made small echoes as i slowly walked around in the darkness. The sun was now covered by the clouds, making it seem much darker.

I slowly pushed the door open and looked up, seeing a spiral stair case. Creepy.

Putting some pressure on the first step I heard it creek before I began going up, tensing at every creek and moan of the metal as I kept going up.

I stopped suddenly when there were voices and I made it to the third landing.

"Boss will be here any minute. He's coming on the chopper" I heard a voice.

"I know, make sure the room is locked down"

I slowly started to walk up the stairs again and when I felt the stair give out from under me. I took in a sharp breath and scrambled back down to the landing, feeling my heart beating out of my chest.

"Did you hear that?" I heard the voices again.

"I'll go check it out, lock down the south exit"

Shit.

I'm so done. Ok I need to either keep going or leave and come back in a few days... But what if they move location? I can't risk that.

Making up my mind I slipped into the door to the third floor. Hearing someone walking down the stairs I hid to the side of the wall, silently calculating how much longer I had.

"Stair's broken" I heard the voice. Just a few more seconds.

I heard footsteps on the landing and let out a quiet breath and closed my eyes, quieting any other doubts I had in my mind.

As the door opened and I felt a draft of wind my eyes snapped open and I grabbed the man by his bullet best and pulled him to the side. Within seconds I had him in a head lock and I quickly adjusted the hold I had before snapping his neck. His body fell to the ground and I took in a breath before letting it out.

Time to move before they realize he's been gone too long.

I quickly went back out and jumped the broken stair before heading up to the last floor.

I looked through the window in the door, seeing exactly a dozen men scattered around.

Some over at a TV on some leather couches, others at a table drinking and playing a card game.

Quickly slipping into the room I hid in the darker area behind a few boxes.

The rest were ready and armed, guarding the exists as a second door opened on the other side of the room. A tall man came out with four guards and everyone in the room stopped and got up.

Ok- so on top of the dozen armed men I have to deal with 5 other people... Great.

The lead man set a brief case down onto the table and opened it.

"Is that all?" One asked. The lead man's eyes shifted over to one of the men that had already currently been in the building.

"Yes" His voice was low yet smooth. "No one knows about our dealing correct?" Several men looked around for a moment and hesitated to say anything.

"There was one girl-" My eyes widened.

Oh god. They know about me.

"-She Uh- stumbled... Across our previous dealing. She might have heard something-"

"Is she dead?" The lead man snapped.

"W-We think so; we left her in an alley to bleed to death"

Christ, Hell's Kitchen just got a lot worse now that I know those people were behind this huge operation.

Ok gotta act like- really soon! Or else they start getting suspicious or something.

"Good, now let's start signing these. I have to get back to the station"

I furrowed my eyebrows a bit before quickly getting out of my thoughts. I grabbed a small smoke grenade off my belt before activating it. It had a 6 second warning.

I rolled it out to the center of the room and the beeping grew louder.

"Bomb!" One yelled. The lead man was escorted to the opposite side of the room towards where they entered as the grenade went off.

I got up quickly and ran towards the first shadow I saw, jumping I wrapped my legs around his neck and flipped him- making his head smack the concrete floor before I threw a throwing knife at the next one I saw.

Ducking gun fire I quickly rolled to the side before appearing next to another hostile, snapping their arm back I knocked them off their feet, stabbing them in the neck with another knife I then threw said knife at another guard.

Seeing another hostile looking around quickly with a gun in hand I ran up behind him and pulled him into a head lock before I adjusted my hands to snap his neck.

Suddenly several people grabbed me from behind. With a grunt I snapped the neck of the guy and sent my elbow flying back and heard a cry as I hit someone in the face. Grabbing my gun I aimed it back and stopped when I saw the rest of the men all pointing guns at me as the smoke had mostly diminished.

"Well well," The lead man chuckled and walked up to the middle of the front line of men pointing guns at me. "Looks like someone's back from the dead?" He looks to the man that had said I was 'dead' before looking back at me.

"Sir- I can assure you we thought she was dead when we left-"

"Well obviously she's not!" He yelled and shot him a deadly look. His eyes were soon back on me and a grin crept onto his face.

I was still pointing my Glock 26 at him, ready to pull the trigger.

"Nichole Woods correct?" My eyes widened and I stared at him for a moment. He chuckled and nodded before one of the men handed him a tablet. He looked at it and smirked. "Living in New York for several years now," He starts to walk around my right. And my eyes follow him and so does my gun. "Born September 2, 1872" He looks at me again and i clenched my jaw and my finger tightened on the trigger.

"How the hell do you know that" I growl, feeling my hands shake.

"We know a lot about you, you leave a nice trail of clues" He says before pulling up something on the tablet.

"You live in room 4A of your apartment building, with Lara Johnson" He turns the tablet towards me and my heart stops when I see live footage on it.

"Lara" I whispered before my head shot up at him. Son of a bitch I just admitted to him that I know her. Damn it!

"She's been your right hand man in all your vigilante work, I see" He turned the tablet back to face himself. "Be a shame if something happened to her-"

"You lay one finger on her I swear to god I will kill you!" I snap and started to walk towards him when the men advanced on me and grabbed me before one pulled my gun from my hand. I snapped my head back, knocking one in the face before elbowing the other in the gut when he yelled over the commotion.

As I looked at him and so did the others one punched me in the stomach and I grunted in pain and fell to my knees. The stab wound was still giving me shit and now I'm paying for it again.

"I'd watch it if I were you" He snapped. "I have men surrounding your apartment as we speak. They will make her pay for what you've done if I don't call it off"

My eyes were still on the tablet as I saw Lara heating up the pizza from the night before. My eyes watered a bit as I remembered our conversation before I left.

"What do you want from me" I looked at him. A grin crept back onto his face before he nods to himself.

"That's better" He puts the tablet down on the table next to him and claps his hands before looking at me. "You know about The Battle of New York, yes?"

I furrowed my eyebrows and hesitated before shaking my head.

"No I don't-" I suddenly felt a burning sensation as a knife sliced across my arm and I grunted in pain and clenched my teeth before one yanked my head back and put said knife to my throat.

"Wrong answer" He snapped before kneeling down in front of me. "Let me ask you again" He was casually holding a gun up in front of me. "You know about The Battle of New York, yes?" He said firmly. My eyes trailer over to the tablet before I finally gave a little nod. "And you fought in the battle... Yes?"

I nod again.

"Good! We're making progress here!" He smiled at everyone before looking back at me. "Now we know the weapons of the aliens were confiscated by the government, where are they" He asked seriously.

My eyes were locked on him and I didn't speak for a moment.

"I don't kno-" I felt the knife press firmly against my neck and I tried to hold back a cry as I felt blood trickle down across my skin.

"You don't have many options here Ms. Woods so I suggest you tell us what you know right now," He stood up and put the gun down before picking up the tablet and showed me again. My eyes widened as I looked at it and I bit my lip see that they had already snuck into my apartment and were waiting in the dark areas of the living room. "-and I'll call off my men from your apartment and Ms. Johnson will be left unharmed"

I looked at him before my eyes went back to the tablet and then back at him.

I can't tell him where the weapons are. I know SHIELD has them and that even if I told him he probably wouldn't find them but I can't take that risk. SHIELD isn't known to the public, if I tell him the secret government organization won't be unknown anymore and I can't be the cause of that.

But I can't just abandon Lara! I've never had someone I needed more than her and although I have Steve now- Lara has given so much for me. She's given up jobs so she could help me get missions and it wasn't until she got a job under Tony (Stark Industries) that she could multi task giving me missions and help pay the rent.

"10 seconds in counting hon, what's the word" He got me out of my thoughts and I finally looked at him.

My eyes went to the tablet and I felt them water more as I saw Lara added the shredded cheese to one side of the pizza. I loved having extra shredded cheese on pizza. She knew I did even though I never told her. It's those kinds of things best friends catch up on.

I finally let out a shaky breath before looking up at him as I opened my mouth to respond.

Suddenly there was a band and the lights flickered before going on and off.

"We're under attack!" One yelled and they started to panic.

"You!" The lead man growled as I was now on my knees with no others around me and the others started to head to lock down the exits. "You brought them!" He yelled.

"N-no!" I say quickly before I saw the men advance towards Lara on the tablet. "It wasn't me I swear!" I felt a tear slip and he growled before pointing a gun at me and the door suddenly burst open and men poured out and started shooting down the hostiles. The gun was shot from his hand and he ran.

I was seeing red as I immediately got up and ran after him. I easily caught up and grabbed him by his jacket and slammed him against the wall before grabbing the knife from my boot. I threw it at his hand and it went right through and got caught in the wall before i grabbed another one and held it against his throat.

"Call off your men right now!" I yelled. He was still struggling to push me off and get to the knife in his hand. "Do it!" I almost screamed at him, pressing the knife deeper and I felt the blood run over my hands as he started choking. He just grinned as the blood started to come out his mouth and I finally yelled before slamming his against the wall again and again before his body was limp and I left him handing with the knife still in his hand.

Gun fire was all around me as I looked around seeing the men who raided the place taking down the hostiles. I fell to the ground as I was breathing heavy before my eyes sought out the little tablet a few yards away.

I scrambled across the floor and to the tablet he dropped before picking it up. The men ran at Lara and I saw her turn as a fearful look crossed her face as she was scrambling to get the Taser I always kept in the kitchen utensils drawl.

I covered my mouth with my hand to quiet the sobs as they started to attack her and beat her, disarming her of the Taser before she was on the floor and they kept beating her. I was crying into my hand and tears were coming down my face like a waterfall as I still tried to hide them with my hand.

They were still going when the tablet suddenly went back and was replaced with grey static.

It was dead silent as I was still staring at the blank screen.

"Miss?" I heard a voice behind me. "Miss we're with SHIELD. You are Nichole Woods correct"

I felt fury burn through me as I slowly turned my head to the side.

"We'd like to than-"

I was up and holding a knife to the man's throat before he could finish and I saw everyone jump and point guns at me.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" I yelled.

"Ma'am drop the knife!" I could hear people calling to me from around the room.

"Miss-" The agent in front of me looked confused and a bit startled.

"I had this completely under control!" I snap before lowering the knife and punched him in the nose before I was storming for the door.

 **Please review! Happy New Year!**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

 **Here's the next chapter. I don't think many people liked the last one. So uh… maybe this one will be a bit better I hope**

My feet were hitting the street as I was sprinting back towards our apartment. Tears were still in my eyes as I was still in shock over what I knew happened. I got my phone from my pocket and quickly dialed her number before holding the phone to my ear. It went to voice mail and I let out a shaky breath.

"Lara please pick up and let me know if you're ok! I'm coming home now, please be ok" I whispered at the end before I put my phone back in my pocket. My breath was shaky as I was running as fast as I could with my stab wound on my stomach. It was burning and throbbing from getting punched. Thunder and lightning raged across the sky above as I started sprinting.

All my other injuries were there but the pain was not in my current mind set as I came down the street and burst through the door of the building and ran for the stairs. I took the stairs two at a time and made it up to the top before I ran down the hall and stopped when I saw Police Officers at the door.

I ran up and they looked at me before stopping me from entering.

"Hold it Miss, are you Nichole Woods-"

"Yes" I answer immediately. They looked at each other and then at me.

"Someone appears to have broken in and caused harm to another resident- Lara Johnson is your roommate correct?" I nod quickly.

"Can I go inside, please?" I beg. They finally nod and I quickly walked in and my jaw dropped at what I saw. It was destroyed. The whole apartment. I covered my mouth as I walked around, ignoring the other officers who were taking evidence and other things. I looked to the kitchen and then walked over. I closed my eyes when I saw the pool of blood on the floor and smeared hand prints.

I coughed a slight sob and thankfully the officers didn't notice or decided not to make a big deal out of it as I knelt down and picked up the Taser before placing it on the counter. The pizza had been pushed aside and half of it was on the floor when my eyes landed on a note sticking out of the fridge.

I looked around before walking over and pull it out.

 _Nik,_

 _I know this is the first place you'll go when you come back. I'm running back to work to go pick up some paperwork on a possible mission for you. The pizza is ready, just heat it up and I'll be back as soon as I can._

 _...Don't be mad, but I told SHIELD about this mission you're on now. And if all goes well then you know that now too. I wanted you to get the credit for busting these bad guys and SHIELD agreed to come as your back up and give you the mission credit for the bust._

 _Please give them a chance. I know you don't really think of yourself as one of the good guys but I believe you are. And so does Steve… So don't roll your eyes._

I blinked away the tears and breathed out before I continued reading.

 _Don't be mad that I told them, you know I want the best for you, you deserve it._

 _I'm rambling so let's cut to the chance. I'll be back in a few. Don't go to bed because we're watching Doctor Who._

 _Lara_

I put a hand over my mouth as I stuffed the note in my pocket.

I looked around before heading towards my room. It was also destroyed. My eyes looked around before they landed on the night table and I stopped.

There on the wood surface was a small black vase with the rose Steve gave me.

...I didn't keep the rose in a vase. It was just lying on its side before.

I was shaking as I took a few steps towards it before I saw the note sitting there. My shaky hand picked it up and I realized it wasn't from Lara.

 _If you're reading this it is very likely your friend is critically injured or dead. I hope you're happy with the choice you made. Although you think you have your tracks covered, let me assure you that they are not. We know who you are, we know your story and we know about those you care about._

 _I hope this will persuade you to stay away from us and what we do. You have no business messing with us and you have no idea what you have done._

 _If you do not comply with these demands you can be sure we will find you and kill everyone you've ever thought you cared about._

My eyes went to the picture on the nightstand as well and I couldn't close my mouth as I picked it up and looked at it. It was a picture of Steve and I walking through the park. My eyes darted back to the printed note as I finished reading.

 _I'm sure you'll make the right choice. Consider this a lesson for the damage you have done._

"Ms. Woods?" I quickly turned and looked to the officer who had entered.

"Yes?" I spoke up quickly and wiped any evidence of tears from my eyes. "Is Lara ok?"

"Ms. Johnson was flown to the Hospital, she was hurt badly but the doctors had pretty good hopes that she'll be ok" He says slowly. I nod and thank him as I stuffed the second note into my jean pocket before running out of my room and for the door.

~0~

After making my way to the hospital I walked into the room that the Doctors said Lara was in. I stopped where I was as my eyes locked on the bed. Walking slowly over, I let out a shaky breath as looked her over.

She had on a neck brace and her face was covered in cuts and bruises. Her right leg was in a cast as well.

Sitting down on the edge of her bed I eventually took off my sweatshirt that was ripped and torn and stained with blood. I threw it in the small trash can before my eyes went back over to Lara.

A Doctor walked in seconds later and I jerked around to see him walk in with a clip board.

"Are you family to Lara Johnson?" He asked. I opened my mouth to speak up and stopped.

"...No, but I'm her roommate can you please just tell me if she'll be ok?" I ask, getting up. I know that they won't let non family stay. He hesitated before nodding.

"Alright well, her right leg is shattered, and she had a concussion. Major bruising throughout her body as well. It'll take some time... But she'll be ok" He says before giving a small smile.

I take in a shaky breath before nodding.

"Ok, thank you" I say quietly before heading for the door.

After getting to the lobby I walked outside and heard the pattering as it was raining.

I stood there for a moment and looked up when an ambulance pulled up.

Taking a few steps to the side I watched as someone was quickly taken into the building on a stretcher, medics running alongside.

As I watched them run into the building something just snapped and I started crying again. I hadn't shown this much emotion in public before- it just wasn't something I did. Yet here I am now crying away.

I finally started running away from the hospital and down the street. The rain was mixing with the tears on my face as my hair and clothes were quickly becoming drenched as I kept running and the rain came down harder.

As the time ticked by I found myself walking through the park and in the thunderstorm. I was completely soaked and freezing as I finally saw a tree ahead.

I blinked away the tears and rain water as I started walking towards it. Steve and I used to sit under this tree a lot.

I sat down at the base and still could feel the down pouring rain on me coming through the branches.

I finally found myself shivering a lot more from the cold and I pulled my legs to my chest, burying my face down between my chest and my legs I took in a shaky breath and clenched my jaw to stop my teeth from shattering.

Suddenly the rain stopped and I heard a tinking of water on what sounded like metal.

I slowly lifted my head and saw a pair of combat boots to my right. Looking up the rest of the way I saw Steve looked down at me with a saddened smile, holding his shield over my head. My eyes looked him up and down for a moment; he was still in his suit and everything.

"Steve," I sniffled in a breath before forcing a smile. "You're back early" I say, looking down before quickly wiping away the water that was mixed with tears. Although my voice gave away I had pretty much been crying my eyes out.

"Yeah I am" I looked over as he sat down next to me before he pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around his neck and sniffled in another breath to try to calm and hide the emotion I had been showing the last hour.

"Are you ok?" I asked. "I was waiting for your call-"

"We can talk about it later," I felt the warmth of this breath against my neck before he spoke up again. "Are you ok?" He had pulled out of the hug before he was looking at me with clear concern. I let a small airy laugh escape before I nodded.

"Mm hm, I'm fine" I say as he lightly cupped my face and rubbed the small bruise on cheek with his thumb.

"You don't look fine" He mumbles and I could tell he was worried.

"How'd you know I was here?" I asked, changing the topic.

"Well, first off I know about what happened-… I'm sorry about Lara" He says. I look down and give a small nod.

"It's fine"

"And secondly, we come here a lot. I saw you run into the park but lost you since you're a pretty fast runner" He gives me a smile. I roll my eyes and hug my legs. He says I'm a fast runner all the time. I know he's just saying it now to make me feel better. "This is also where I asked you out, so..." He chuckles then stops. "N-Not that that's why I think you came here, but I think it woul- no, I mean I just thought maybe you'd venture off this way or something" He rubbed the back of his neck somewhat nervously and I laughed softly a bit before sniffling again.

"I um," I bit my bottom lip and took in a shaky breath as my teeth were trying to chatter. "I messed up on my mission and they found out who I was. I wouldn't give them the information so they went after Lara" I say with a sarcastic laugh but it came out somewhat as a sob. I hid it best I could though. "She told me before I left that I can't mess this up, and she warned me that these people would find a way to get to me" I say, my eyes locked on the grass as I was trying to keep my eyes focused on a piece of grass as I twirled my finger around it. "When in the end I messed it up but instead of me, it was her that got the beating for my wrong doing" I let out a sharp breath and sat back, hitting my head against the tree a bit harder than I intended. I ignored the thump as i looked over head up the tree and I kept my eyes away from his when I felt Steve wrap an arm around me and pulled me against him.

"It's not your fault ok?" I could feel his eyes on me. "Lara knew what you were getting into and she knew what she was getting into too. It was her choice to make" I felt him press a kiss to the side of my head before he rested his head on mine. I finally turned into his side and felt him wrap his arms around me.

"I missed you" I say quietly. It was quiet for several seconds.

"I missed you too" He whispers before rubbing my back. I was still shaking from the cold but he helped warm me up a bit.

"How'd you get back early?" I ask, not moving from where I was.

"We basically finished the mission, Natasha and Clint left a few hours ago but I left yesterday. There were just a last few things to attend to" He says quietly. I hesitate before nodding.

"I'm glad you're back" I felt my lips curl up into a small smile.

"So am I" He breathed a chuckle before hugging me tighter. I could hear his heart beating beneath his suit and found myself smiling wider.

After a few seconds I went to pull out of the hug when Steve leaned back in and not seconds later I felt his lips against mine. My hands unknowingly grabbed the collar of his suit while I felt his hand on the back of my neck.

I had never really kissed anyone in the rain before... It's actually quite satisfying. Not to mention it's with this man... Wow I'm realizing how much I missed this.

Thunder and lightning shot across the sky above and made me jump back from him a little as I pulled away. We locked eyes briefly and exchanged a smile before he looked me over and frowned.

"Nik, you're freezing" He states.

"I'm fine-"

"No you're not; let me take you back to the Tower. I'm sure they have some clothes lying around that you can borrow" He says eagerly before grabbing my hand.

I hesitate to say anything for a moment before I smiled and nod. His smile grew as he carefully pulled me to my feet and we started towards Stark Tower.

 **Hope you guys liked this chapter, please review- if you want that is. I'm not really proud of the last few chapters so… ideas would be great if you want something different to happen.**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

 **Here's the next chapter everyone!**

 **So sorry it took so long to update anything, my PC charger broke and I wasn't able to update or anything… It was a sad few weeks let me tell you XD I got a new one though, so yay!**

 **Hope you guys like this one. Thanks so much Juliet and Molly for the idea with SHIELD! Very clever, I hope to incorporate it soon :) As to others I hope this story is going ok and if you have any comments or requests you know by now that you can review them or PM me XD**

Sometime later we made it back to the Tower. We were both drenched now and as we walked into the elevator and the door closed it got quiet.

" _It's good to see you again Ms. Woods. Captain Rogers, shall I inform Mr. Stark of your arrival?_ "

"Yeah, thanks Jarvis" Steve had his eyes on the floor as he responded before it got quiet again.

I had my arms crossed firmly over my chest and my gaze was lost on the floor.

I couldn't stop thinking about Lara. She was there by herself and I was the cause of it.

"Nik," I blinked out of my thoughts and looked over seeing Steve eyeing me.

"Hm?"

"I'm sure Tony has a spare apartment you can stay in" He says. "With the state of your apartment I don't think you should go back their tonight-"

"Wait, have you seen my apartment?" I asked. Steve looked at me for a moment and then down before he nodded and his eyes went back up to me.

"Yeah, since part of that mission was also SHIELD's at the time and you were involved the news spread pretty quickly. I haven't been there myself but I've seen photographs"

"So that means Fury knows about Lara" I state as the door opened. We walked out and my head shot over when I saw the freakin man himself talking with Tony and Pepper.

"Ms. Woods," Fury started. I walked over cautiously with Steve. "I hope next time my agents show up to aid you they won't be coming back with broken noses and black ey-" Before he could finish something snapped and I grabbed him before slamming him against the wall.

"What the hell is your problem?!" I yelled. "My friend was almost killed because of your God damn aid to help get this job done. Don't you dare _hint_ that this is my fault!" I tried to grab at him again when I felt someone pull me off him, and I glanced back briefly seeing Steve before I looked back at him.

"It was Ms. Johnson who called in our aid, Ms. Woods." Director Fury stated somewhat firmly as he stepped away from the wall. I stared daggers at him before he mumbled something to Tony. He glared at me before walking out to the stairwell.

"That was tense" I heard Tony mutter.

"Pepper, do you guys have a room Nik could borrow for the night, her apartment is... Uh" Steve trailed off. "Not in a good state at the moment"

"Of course. I have some clothes that you can borrow too Nichole" Pepper gave me a warm smile. My eyes went from Tony to Steve and then to Pepper. I took a deep breath before nodding with a forced smile and I took a few steps forward before following her to the elevator.

We went up a few levels before walking out and into a different room.

"Hey, isn't this the room I-"

"Yes, we set you up here when you got injured. It's not being used by anyone so you can stay as long as you'd like" She smiled.

I looked around before giving a small smile and a nod.

"If you want to clean up the bathroom is around there to your left," She pointed around the corner. "And there's plenty of food in the kitchen" She looked back over at me. I look around for a moment before giving a small smile.

"Thank you," I say quietly. She smiles and puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Least we can do Nik, trust me" She chuckles. "I'll go get you some clothes. I'll be back in a few" She had already started for the door and I have a smile and a nod as she left.

My eyes went back to the apartment in from of me. It was much bigger than my apartment. There was a nice size living room, a kitchen, a big table for 4, a flat screen TV on the wall in the living room. This was like- a fancy apartment. I remembered what the bedroom looked like and I think I remember where the bathroom is.

I looked around before I started walking for the kitchen. I opened a cupboard and saw some saltine crackers. Oh my god I love these.

I took the box out and started to nibble on a cracker as I looked around.

My mind quickly shifted to Lara. She's spending the night alone in the hospital while I'm here in this pretty much 5 star room. What the hell his wrong with me...

Taking a deep breath I put the crackers away and went towards the bathroom to shower.

~0~

I cross my arms firmly over my robe as I walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, seeing a small pile of clothes on the bed and a small note.

I picked it up and read it to myself.

 _Here are some clothes for you; Tony also had me bring you some movies to pass the time if you're not going to bed just yet. Oh, and Steve wants to talk to you when you have the chance ;)_

 _Pepper_

I smiled and rolled my eyes before I took the clothes to the bathroom to change.

A few minutes later I walked out of the bathroom in a t shirt and some sweat pants. Making my way into the kitchen I thought for a moment before I went over the couch. I plopped down and hugged a pillow to my chest for a moment and let out a long sigh and I fell onto my side. My thoughts shifted over to Steve and I stared at the ground for a moment.

"Jarvis where did Captain Rogers go?"

" _He's currently in the gym Ms. Woods_ " I heard the AI respond.

"Thank you" I got up and headed for the door.

" _You're welcome._ "

It was quiet as I headed down towards the elevator and got inside before pushing the correct floor level.

I felt the floor jolt slightly before it started going down. I crossed my arms tightly again and waited briefly.

When the door finally opened I slowly walked out and down the short hall before I stopped in the doorway and my eyes shifted to the left over at the punching bags. Steve was at it again. I knew he usually spent his spare time at some small gym in the city or here. Usually he said he would do it to blow off steam or to get some alone time.

I still had my arms crossed as I slowly walked in and over towards where he was. He was still brutally punching the bag and I opened my mouth to speak up when the bag suddenly flew across the room and hit the wall with a bang.

I jumped slightly and closed my mouth again, stopping where I was before he glanced over and stopped.

"Oh, hey" He was breathing a lot heavier.

"Hey," I say hesitantly. "I can Uh, come back later-"

"No, no it's fine I was just finishing up" He stopped and looked down before his eyes shot over to the bag on the other side of the room with sand pouring out the side.

"Yeah I can tell" I smirked slightly. He rolled his eyes before walking over to me.

"Feeling any better?" His voice seemed a bit concerned but I tried to ignore it somewhat.

"I'm fine" I state before smiling.

"Hungry?"

"...I bit"

"Would you let me make you something to eat or is that pushing it" He chuckled. I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"I think I can live with you making me something to eat. Don't put too much effort in though, I'm not that important" I smirk.

"You're that important to me" He smiled before gently pulling me against him. I draped my arms over his shoulders with a smirk.

"So what- you gonna make me soup or something?" I laugh.

"Well what do you wanna eat?" He said back in a playful tone.

"I honestly don't care," I shrug and look at him for a moment seeing he was getting a bit closer. I stopped for a moment and felt myself smile before he leaned in closer and gently kissed me.

Wow... he's a really soft kissing now that I remember.

I ran my fingers through his hair before running them back along his shoulders, feeling his hand gently rub along my back.

"Eh hem" I jumped slightly and turned away from Steve who was still in the heat of the moment and saw Tony at the door.

"Natasha and Clint wanna know how you're doing. Should I tell them you're making out with our Captain here?" He looked at the both of us for a moment with a bit of a grin. We were both kinda entangled in each other's arms before Steve cleared his throat; I was already getting a bit red in the face.

"Just tell them she's good for now" He says with a nod.

"Just good? Are you sure I shouldn't tell them you might end up in bed with her tonight considering what I just walked in on-"

"Tell them she's doing surprisingly well considering the situation, you can leave now" Steve stated somewhat shortly. Tony rolled his eyes with a grumble before leaving with a grin. I was already as red as a tomato and so was Steve. Several seconds of really awkward silence followed before I finally chuckled and spoke up.

"You seem pretty short with him at the moment"

Steve looked down at me and his lip quirked up into a half smirk as he looked to the side.

"You seemed to be in a hurry to get him to leave to…" I state and nibble my bottom lip. He hesitates to say anything and I chuckle when he gave me a bit of a guilty look.

"" He frowns playfully before smirking, his hands met behind my back and I rested my head against his chest. "Just haven't seen you in a while and I wanna catch up" His voice indicated his usual chipper tone. I smile and let out a deep sigh as he rested his head over mine, persuading me to just close my eyes and relax.

This was one thing that I really did miss when he was gone. Just being close to him. I've never really been the type of person that liked to cuddle or always be in a guy's arms. But for some reason with Steve that's the one thing I love about him, it just makes me feel safe and like-… Like I'm wanted and not just filled up space with not much purpose other than to kill people.

"I missed this," I mumble.

"...Missed what?" I could hear the confusion. I smile and lean back to look at him.

"This," I gesture between us with a hand. "Being with you," I smile. His smile widened before he kissed me again. I smiled against his lips before pulling away.

"And that; I missed that too" I add, making him laugh.

"Ever had cheese and broccoli soup?" He asked suddenly. I furrowed my eyebrows and shook my head after a moment.

"You're about too" He says before his hands slid from my back and grabbed my hands. "Let's go" I laughed at his enthusiasm before we walked hand in hand to the elevator.

~0~

Sometime later, we went back to the apartment I was borrowing and Steve immediately wanted to get to work on making me this soup he's so excited about. I've never had it but it actually sounds kinda good.

I was sitting on the couch now, looking at the TV and waiting patiently.

"Isn't it supposed to be the girl slaving away in the kitchen making dinner?" I call over. He looks over with a smile.

"Not in my book it's not" He makes clear before we both laughed. About a minute later he brought over two bowls and set one down on the coffee table before handing me one.

"Thank you" I smile and take the bowl before grabbing him by his shirt and pulled him down for a quick kiss. Not seconds later he was looking at me again with a big enough smile to light up the room.

"Wow… Maybe I should make you soup more often" He says somewhat to himself before sitting down to my right.

I laughed as I picked up my bowl again looked at the screen briefly. A few seconds went by as I suddenly realized he was staring at me. I glanced at him, then the TV, and then back at him.

"What?"

"Try it" he urges. I roll my eyes and nod before picking up my spoon. I lifted it to my mouth before taking a bite- and holy freaking shit let me tell you this is amazing!

"Oh my god what the hell is in this?!" I laugh and eagerly take another bite. Steve chuckled as I did so. "How- in the world did you make this?" I spoke demandingly and look at him with a smile.

"Trade secret" He shrugs before having some of his own soup.

"I'll pay you if you make this for me every night" I make clear. He laughed and looked over at me. "I'm not kidding."

"I'd make it for you for free as many times as you'd like, all you need to do is ask" He says before kissing my cheek. I bit my lip and quickly ate another spoon full to hide my blushing.

"I'll hold you to that" I say before we both chuckled.

My eyes ventured back over to the TV and I switched the channel and stopped.

"This is a good show" I say, looking over at him. "It's called Friends. Ever seen it?" He shook his head and I shrugged an agreement. Oh course he's never seen it you idiot. Smooth one. "Trust me you'll love it" I add quickly as my eyes were on the screen.

I occasionally caught him looking at me and tried not to think anything of it as I distracted myself by looking at the screen. I finally let out a breath.

"Is this show that boring or is there something on my face distracting enough to draw you attention away from the screen" I state turned a smirk on him. He didn't look at all fazed by the comment and continued to look at me.

"I'm not being creepy am I?" He chuckled. I shake my head and take a sip from my glass of water. We had gotten water several minutes after walking in the door.

"No, not creepy" I assure him. "I just find it odd" I smile and laugh softly.

"So if I tell you how amazingly beautiful I think you are and kissed you in a few seconds, you wouldn't find that creepy either?" He tried to suppress his grin and it took every god damn ounce of my self-control not to blush like a teenager.

"No, it wouldn't" I say a bit too quickly.

"Ok good. I think you are the most amazing, beautiful person I've ever met in my life- I'm going to kiss you now" He breathed before leaning towards me as I laughed softly as pulled me into a kiss. I placed my hand in the side of his face, letting my thumb slide over his cheekbone and felt him move his hand behind me before it stilled on my lower back.

It wasn't anything big, very simple and somewhat innocent. This is what he's good at fortunately- not that I'm saying he can't make out or anything! I mean- Christ, when he left and had that brief make out session I almost lost it when he pushed me up against my door. Almost forgot that Lara was in the other room… Who knows what would've happened there, especially if he didn't have a mission to go to…. I'm gonna stop thinking about this now.

I pulled away from him a few seconds later and looked at him for a moment and he looked right back. Neither of us said anything for a few seconds before we both met for a second kiss, a bit more than the first one.

I felt his hands start to explore along my back more as I threaded my fingers into his hair, lightly tugging at the ends. His grip around my waist tightened before pulling me closer and I found myself letting him as my hand trailed down to grab the collar of his shirt, pulling it closer to me as I kissed him a little bit rougher than the last. Things seemed to escalate a bit further from there as he pulled me over to his side of the couch and I straddled his lap, my hands moving back up along his shoulders as I threaded them in his hair once again.

Steve's hands swept up along my back and down again as I could feel the fabric of my shirt moving from under his hand. My attention was drawn away for a brief moment and I stalled when I thought I heard voices somewhere in the hall but it was quickly dismissed when I felt warm hands on my waist under my shirt and I quickly drew my attention back, letting my hands grab at the hem his shirt before they were running along his torso, and sweet Jesus he was seriously built like a freaking brick shithouse, not to sound to blunt here.

I hummed against his mouth, quickly realizing how at some point this had quickly went from a small gentle kiss to becoming a very turn-on, open mouth, kinda kiss and I was _really_ enjoying it.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and we both froze where we were, the realization hitting as we looked at each other dead in the eyes. I stared at him for a few seconds, his eyes trailing over my face and occasionally looking down at my lips. We were both breathing a bit heavier. Within a few seconds a voice could be heard.

"You who! Open up Nik, got some people here for you" Tony. My eyes shot to the door and Steve let his head fall back along the couch and mumbled something along the lines of 'not this again'

"No getting rid of him this time, soldier" I chuckle. He smirked and lifted his head back up to look at me. "He's not going to leave if we ignore him is he" I state.

" _Indeed, he will not Ms. Woods, and I must allow him all access to the Tower_ " Jarvis suddenly spoke up. I huffed and put a hand through my hair when I suddenly froze- quickly realizing I was still straddling Steve's lap. He looked at me as I got a bit red in the face and moved away and put a good foot in between us.

"Sorry" I say quietly before I looked to the door and got up to open it.

"No!- I mean uh, no don't apologize. I mean, after all I kinda put you there" He somewhat awkwardly ran a hand through his hair as he got up to follow me. "I don't uh, regret any of that if you don't" He adds with a smirk. I look at him for a moment and smile.

"No, that was…" I nibble my lip for a moment. "Who am I kidding that was awesome" I roll my eyes and I saw his shoulders relax a bit and chuckled. "Yeah, you're awesome" I smile and walk into his arms as he met my for a kiss, pulling me close to him.

"Nichole Woods, open up before I call demand Jarvis to open it" Tony, my god.

"Gotta get that" I mumble against his lips as I playfully pushed him away. He rolled his eyes. "How do we do this, Tony'll have a freakin hay day if he knows you're in here at this hour of the night" I make clear.

"I'll hide behind the door" He shrugs with a dorky grin. My god his dorky grins and smirks are seriously drop-dead cute.

I quickly shook my head at my venturing thoughts and nod before going to open the door. Tony was standing there with Natasha and Clint. I was holding the door open with my left hand, the other hanging at my side as I looked at them for a moment and bit my lip before smiling.

"Welcoming comity I know" Tony smirks.

"Hey" Clint butted in.

"Good seeing you guys in one piece" I laugh. He rolled his eyes.

"Steve said you enjoyed using the gym" Natasha spoke up. I nod and smile.

"Definitely the highlights of my week over the last month, I gotta say" I admit. " How did the mission turn out?"

"Good, ended quicker than we thought. Bad guys taken into custody, all's good" Clint smirks.

"Good to hear" I smile back.

"Sooo… have you seen Steve yet?" Natasha quickly changed the topic and I could tell that had been the main question she wanted to ask. I stared at them for a moment and drew a blank.

"Steve," I state. "Uh- yeah, yeah. I've seen him" I smile and it got awkwardly quiet. "…A-Around" I add. Natasha just grinned along with Clint and Tony had a straight face.

"So where is our brave Captain? Hiding under your bed? In your closest?" He deadpanned. I was about to speak up when Steve grabbed the door, his hand brushing against mine as he opened it farther with a blank face. Clint barked out a laugh and Natasha's grin widened.

"Cute" Natasha didn't suppress her ear to ear grin.

"What happened to calling in for the night Woods, or is this your idea of calling in-" Tony started.

"Stark, we were watching television" Steve states. They all looked at us for a moment.

"By the looks of you guys I think they're might have been a little more than that going on" Clint added. It got quiet and Steve and I simultaneously looked down at ourselves slowly. My shirt was crinkled and so was his, my hair a bit messy, his not nice and combed like is usually is.

"Alright so what?" I ask and try not to laugh. "But out of the relationship" I make clear playfully. Clint put his hands up in a surrendering motion with a grin.

"Alright, we'll try" Tony muttered before he and Clint walked back down the hall. Natasha looked back at me.

"Glad you're having a chance to wind down" She smiled. "We can talk about what happened in the morning ok?" I got serious for a moment and nod before giving her a small smile. I turned to walk back in and caught Natasha giving Steve a grin, which he just rolled his eyes with a smile before closing the door.

I sat back down on the couch and so did he. We both stared at the screen for a moment before he looked back over at me.

"Thirsty?" He asked. I looked over and nod before picking up both cups.

"I have to put my bowl in the sink anyway so I got it" I smile. I could tell he was against that but didn't argue as I walked into the kitchen.

As I was getting more water I looked down at my hands and arms… seeing cuts and bruises and thought for a moment.

Since Lara moved in with me I knew that there was a slim danger possibility. But after what happened a couple hours ago… I honestly don't want her anywhere near me. These people know who I am, have for a while now. How could I have been that stupid to have let this happen?

And they know who Steve is too. What am I doing right now? Why did I let him take me back to the Tower?! I just put them all in danger with letting them help me… Since when did I start letting people help me!? I'm getting so soft over the last few months and I haven't even realized it.

They threatened to kill everyone closest to me if I didn't back off. I need to lighten up one of these: My relationships or my job. And I can't stop doing what I was trained to do. It's my life, it's all I'm good t and sure of. I'll just need to take a step back in my relationships… although I don't want to. Steve has given this everything. And I've only met him halfway. He deserves so much better-

I cringed suddenly when Steve gently put his hand on my hand.

"You ok?" I turned and saw he was standing next to me at the counter and the sink was still running. I quickly turned it off. He followed me back over to the couch as we sat down.

His eyebrows scrunched together in concern when I didn't answer right away. My eyes went around the room and I thought for a moment.

"Yeah I uh… Think I'm getting a bit tired" I state and put a hand through my hair, avoiding his gaze. He looked at me for a moment and I gave him a bit of a look and cleared my throat. Giving him the hint so I wasn't being rude.

"Oh-" I saw the realization cross his face and he stood up as I did.

"Yeah I-"

"Here let me help with the dishes" He picked up his bowl and glass.

"Steve, I think I can clean up just fine" I chuckle and take the bowl before urging him for the door. He looked a bit confused but didn't argue or anything as he opened the door. He turned to say something and before he could I stepped forward and pressed my lips to his in a soft, gentle kiss and started walking him backwards as I did so before stepping back into my apartment. He just stared at me and then looked around as he was now in the hall.

"Alright," I smile. He was still looking at me and raised an eyebrow somewhat amusingly. "Well, goodnight" I smile and go to close the door when he stopped it from closing.

"Wait- hold on,"

"Steve I said goodnight- meaning I'm going to sleep" My eyes were on the door as I was trying to push it closed with both hands and he merely had one hand on it, keeping it open with ease as I struggled to close it.

"Nichole, what're you doing?" He chuckled. "You were just fine a minute ago"

"And now I'm not. So…" I give him a short smile and go to close it again before he slipped back inside and I accidentally slammed the door shut as he stepped back into the apartment. "Rogers, this isn't funny" I snap somewhat. I was standing with my back inches from the door now and he was also standing just inches in front of me.

"Exactly, it's not. So I wanna know what's wrong now" He says.

"Please don't talk to me in that Captain-y tone" I grumble. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Captain-y?" He laughed. I rolled my eyes, losing more of my patience.

"Steve. I'm not kidding right now. Please just leave"

"What did I do?" He asked, somewhat more gently with a saddened smile.

"Nothing. You didn't do anything it's something I did. It's my fault- all me. Aren't you supposed to be all polite and shit?" I ask, switching topics throughout.

"You and the mouth" He chuckled, still keeping the light tone. I just roll my eyes and put a hand through my hair again before crossing my arms. "And although I'm polite, I'm not _that_ polite," He smirked. "If it wasn't something I did I don't understand. You didn't do anything Nichole" He says and before gently touching my arm. I was really losing my temper and backed up, not realizing there was a door and I hit it with a thud; clenching my jaw I saw him hide a bit of a laugh. "There's a door-"

"I know there's a door there, Steve." I finish for him. He smiles lightly and nods.

"What are you talking about, what could you have done?" He asked more seriously. My eyes were locked on him for a few more brief seconds and then they went down.

"Everything"

My voice was barely a whisper, I barely heard it myself but Steve managed to catch it.

"That's a bit of a stretch now isn't it?" He asked gently. I smirk.

"No actually, it's not" I kept my voice quiet and say sarcastically. He looked at me for a few more seconds.

"Wanna talk about it?"

I nibbled my lip and closed my eyes. I really, really wish I could. I want to. I'm already in some deep shit at the moment though. I seriously screwed up. I let emotions get in the way and did the one thing I promised myself I wouldn't do: let my emotional attachments get caught up and in the way of my job.

"You don't have to if you don't want to but-… I really wish you would" He gave me a small smile in hopeful manner. I nibbled my bottom lip some more before letting out a breath.

"Whatever I tell you it stays between you and me" I state. He looks at me and smiles and gives a nod. "Promise?"

"Scout's honor" He smirks. I roll my eyes and let out a sigh.

"Ok"

 **Ending it there, did you like it? Was it ok? Hope you guys let me know what you thought :)**


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